


Dominion

by AshleyJinxxBiersack



Category: Dominion (TV), Supernatural
Genre: AU, Angels, Blood and Injury, Crossover, Destiel - Freeform, Escape Attempts, Family, Family Don't End in Blood, M/M, Medic!Sam, Mild - Explicit Language, Minor Character Death, Sabriel - Freeform, War, apocalypse au, guard!dean, human disguises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-10 21:56:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4409285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshleyJinxxBiersack/pseuds/AshleyJinxxBiersack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>26 years ago, God disappeared.</p><p>His Angels held mankind responsible, and declared war on humanity. The Archangel Raphael hated man the most and his blame was the strongest. He led this war of extermination, hoping to rid the Earth of humans and claim dominion over it. The higher Angels refused to take sides, but the lower Angels joined Raphael, tearing the human race apart piece by piece.</p><p>These lesser spirits lacked bodies, so their first line of attack was to steal man's form. But Michael, the greatest of all Archangels, chose to fight for man. With his help, the survivors struck back and built strongholds to defend themselves. Soon, word spread of a baby Michael had saved; a child who would grow up to be mankind's saviour. This chosen one would be known by the markings on his body that would show when the time came for him to be known to the world. Finally, Raphael and his army retreated, and man was left with the realisation that not only are Angels very, very real;</p><p>They are man's most hated enemy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

The bag wasn't as heavy this time as it was last time. That annoyed Dean. He didn't like having a bag that wasn't a pain for him to carry. It meant he wasn't picking up enough stuff, but it just pushed him to do better on his next outing. That's what he always told himself; if you don't do good this time, do better next time. It was good to try and stay positive. There's a next time to use for improvements.

Shutting up the back of the truck, Dean could hear noises that he shouldn't be able to hear in a building that was supposed to be abandoned. No one had been in the old casino in years. No one had been in this part of the city itself for years, so that was worrisome. Armed with a gun, Dean went to investigate.

The old building was a mess. All that remained was the crumbling walls, and the dust, ash and dirt that absorbed people's footprints and caused a bigger mess if it was scuffed around. Broken glass was littered around from windows, bottles and mirrors, and the wood of the bar and shelves had long since been burned to a pile of nothing. To anyone who'd never been in a place like this before, it'd be creepy. Dean was used to these kinds of places though, so he wasn't afraid.

A group of three sat around a makeshift table playing what looked like Poker. He knew exactly what they were, and if he hadn't made the amateur mistake of stepping on a glass and shattering it, he'd have been able to gun them down without any problems at all. They tried to charm him into playing with them, and as much as Dean knows he'd never usually say no to poker, he knew it would be a bad idea. Without a second thought knowing he stood less of a chance now they'd noticed him, he turned tail and ran.

As soon as he was back in the truck, he didn't hesitate to kick it to life and drive, speeding his way back to the city to get behind the walls and back to where he'd be safe. The angels were following the truck. He could hear them screeching, and when one landed on the roof of the car, Dean panicked just a little. Somehow managing to not crash the truck, he shot down one angel that tried to get into the truck with him. The other two just tried damaging it enough to get him out of it somehow. Jamming the radio against the dashboard to hold it in connection, Dean called ahead to have the gates opened. He could see the walls coming into view now.

"D. Winchester, pass code four-nine-three-seven. Open the gates! D. Winchester, pass code four-nine-three-seven, I have an angel in pursuit!" Nothing. "Four-nine-three-seven, respond!" Still nothing. "Where the Hell are you guys? Open the damn gates!"

It took a while. Dean had slammed the breaks on and sent the two angels flying forward and up before the gates were opened. Artillery guns shot down the male angel, but the female escaped. As soon as Dean was inside, he was being searched and scanned.

"Alright, alright, I know how this goes," he huffed, having had to do this a good few times before. He knew this was for the safety of the city, but he still thought it was annoying to have to do it every time he'd tried to be clever.

"Winchester! What the _Hell_ were you doing outside the walls without city authorisation?" the Officer snapped as he took hold of Dean's jacket.

"Two-for-one down at Benny's burger joint. You know I can't resist a good burger piled with bacon," Dean said, smirking. The Officer shoved him back against the truck roughly. "Ow, alright! What do you think I was doing? You saw the freakin' eightball! There weren't just one of 'em, either, there was a whole group! We need to tell Novak."

"No, take him to the Archangel," the officer said. "I'll report to Novak."

"Aw, man," Dean grumbled.

The short-haired man was loaded into an armed truck to be transported through the city to see Michael. Dean had only ever been face to face with Michael enough times to count on one hand, and he hadn't liked any of those meetings. He didn't like Michael; not because he wasn't a good man, but because something about him just didn't sit right with Dean.

Being driven through the rougher side of the city always made Dean feel uncomfortable. Here he was, a V3 with three square meals a day, and everyone down in the V1 dump of the town was struggling to even find what Dean would consider a snack. It made his stomach turn and made him want to do anything in his power to help them somehow. He knew he couldn't, though. That's not how the world worked anymore.

Upon reaching the building, the Senior Officer was waiting to greet the men bringing Dean in to receive whatever his punishment was to be for being outside the gate and finding those eightballs. Dean was escorted up to one of the interrogation rooms, and he was left in the capable hands of the Senior Officer, who didn't hesitate to slam a whip down on the table Dean was sat at as he started to complain.

"Exiting the city without authorisation is a realigning offence, and with a vehicle at that!" he snapped. "You're gonna get purged right down to V0 for this, boy."

"Better than making a home in Michael's ass to be a V5 like you, right?" Dean sassed. "I don't know what the damn fuss is about. I was able to get a warning about those eightballs wasn't I?"

"How'd you do it, Winchester? Hack the system? Crack the surveillance?" the officer asked.

Michael appeared before Dean could respond. He'd ordered the officer to leave, and he'd taken hold of the whip. Dean wasn't looking forward to where this was going.

"You know the rules and why they exist. Everything in Lawrence has a purpose. That's how this city survives. _For the good and protection of all, the gates are inviolable._ "

"We have a right to leave. All of us," Dean said, eyes glaring at Michael as the archangel paced alongside the table.

"No. _You_ don't," he said. "Tell me about the angels."

"Three of 'em. All eightballs. Something about them was different, though," Dean explained. "One of them could change his body. A soldier. He had wings."

"Where were they?" Michael questioned.

"A couple miles down the strip," Dean responded.

"What were they doing?"

"Playing Texas Hold 'em. Not kidding." Dean was still amused by that, though Michael clearly wasn't.

"And what were _you_ doing out there? You know the punishment for going outside the walls," Michael said.

"I'm gonna be purged?" Dean asked.

"No, you're Archangel Corps. But if you ever do anything like this again, I'll not spare you, do you understand me? Stand up."

With a defiant glint in his eyes, and a glare sent briefly in Michael's direction, Dean stood and faced forward with his hands braced on the table. He heard the whip uncoiling then brush the floor, and before he knew it, there was a brief whistling in the air around him, and the whip hit him. He only got three hits before General Novak joined them.

"I think that's enough, Michael," he said. "He's learned his lesson. Right, boy?" Dean nodded shortly. "Tell no one about what you saw. Not a word about the eightballs to anyone, understand?" Dean nodded again. "Now go report for duty."

Dean didn't hesitate to leave the room, grumbling to himself as soon as he was out of earshot. He couldn't believe he was in the doghouse for doing what any other person would do if they had the balls and the means to get past the gates. No one in the city truly wanted to be stuck behind the walls and the gates, but everyone knew that it was the safest place until something better came up. Whether or not that would happen was a whole other question.

Dean arrived at his post in enough time to catch then end of Castiel's lesson. He loved observing Castiel teaching the children about the history of the war and the city and everyone who had importance somewhere along the line. Castiel was so into it; he spoke with so much passion, and his eyes were always full of emotion as he told the stories, and Dean loved that.

"You're late," Morgan complained.

"Sorry, I got held up," Dean responded.

"Asshole," Morgan said, shoving Dean's shoulder.

"You're an asshole," Dean retorted, smirking before pulling his serious face on and standing guard.

When the lesson was over, the children were all escorted out, leaving Dean alone to finish up and make sure Castiel was alright for the night. Dean always cherished these brief moments, because it meant he was alone with the man he was falling harder every day for.

"Is there anything else I can help you with tonight, Sir?" Dean asked, smiling when Castiel pulled him around a corner and pressed their lips together.

"What happened to your head?" Castiel asked when they parted. Dean touched the spot Castiel's eyes were fixed on and winced a bit, but he shrugged it off.

"There were eightballs by the truck," Dean said.

"What?" Castiel said, becoming alarmed.

"Your guardian told me not to say anything, so you have to keep quiet," Dean said.

"Dean, they _attacked_ you!"

"That's what they do, but I'm _fine_ ," Dean assured him, kissing him softly. "You need to speak to your guardian."

"I know, I know. I will tonight. I've asked to see him. I'll tell him about us, and I will get his permission to marry. But you still have to do a knee and a ring," Castiel said, grinning at the smug look that crossed Dean's features.

"It just so happens that I do in fact have a knee and a ring," he said. They shared another kiss, and Castiel noticed a sudden change in Dean's expression.

"What? Dean, he'll say yes. Trust me, I know him. You're my shield. You took a knife for me. There is no me without you."

"We're different, you and I."

"You think you know him better than I do?"

"I know the system better than you," Dean corrected. "Cas, I have the truck ready. We have enough supplies to make it down to Vega. They don't have numbers there, Cas. Everyone is equal. We could start fresh; a whole new life for the better, but it's gotta be tomorrow night, or we've lost our window of opportunity. The city will be busy with this stupid Jubilee hullabaloo, so we can easily get out."

"It won't come to that, Dean, he'll say yes. But, if he does say no, then I will follow you wherever you go," Castiel said. Dean smiled, kissing him softly before saying goodnight and leaving to head back to his sleeping quarters.

Dean manages to make it half way out of the building when he's stopped again, this time by a guy he's only ever seen twice in the last year or so.

"What's your name, soldier?"

"Dean Winchester, V3. The House Novak, AA Corp," Dean recited.

"Dean Winchester. It's against our law for you to be alone with Castiel, surely you know this. Next time, make sure you're accompanied by another guard," the guy said. Dean just nodded, making his way out again. He didn't pass the opportunity to grab a snack on his way past the food tray.

When he finally got back to the barracks, Dean was happy to strip out of his dusty clothes, tossing them aside to be washed. He smiled when he noticed his brother appear beside him.

"Hey, Sam."

"What did you do now?" Sam asked, soft brown eyes trailing over the angry red marks on his elder brother's back.

"I got on the wrong side of the peacock," Dean chuckled. "Novak stepped in and saved my ass."

"You should stop provoking them, Dean. You might not be so lucky next time," Sam said, starting to clean Dean's back with the first aid kit Dean kept stashed under the bed.

"You say that every time, and every time I get lucky," Dean bragged. Sam just gave him a look. "They ain't no better than us, Sammy. They just have better numbers."

"And that's the way it'll always be," Sam reminded him.

"When's the last time you ate?" Dean asked, glancing back at his brother. Sam shrugged. Dean passed him the sandwich he'd swiped. "I ate at the palace. Get that down you before someone sees it."

"Thanks, Dean," Sam said, smiling gratefully as he finished covering up Dean's back then started to eat.

"We're gonna live somewhere where there ain't any numbers some day," Dean said. "We won't be told what to do, what to eat or where to sleep. We'll be allowed to be with whoever we wanna be with. We're gonna be free one day, Sammy."

"Promise?" Sam asked hopefully. He'd had the dream of freedom for as long as Dean had.

"Promise," Dean said. "Stay close for the next day or so, or as much as you can being a medic an' all. Big stuff's gonna happen, and you're coming with me regardless of what happens."

"Got it," Sam promised.

Dean dreamed of freedom, and he'd dreamt of it since he was a little boy. That freedom was finally so close that he could almost smell it.


	2. II

Dean was with Balthazar suiting up for duty the next day. They hadn't spent a lot of time together in the recent weeks due to shifts keeping them separated, but whenever they could get together, they did, and Balthazar was always first to call Dean out on his shit.

"You've been logging serious overtime at House Novak recently. You wanna explain that, Winchester?" he asked.

Dean shrugged. "I go where I'm told."

"What, so General N has just decided to up security all of a sudden?" Balthazar questioned.

"Why wouldn't he? He's Lord of the city, dude. The man's concerned about his kid's safety," Dean responded.

"Who said anything about his kid?"

"No one. But everyone knows how he is with Castiel. Just wants him to be safe."

"Yeah, he cares a lot about him, doesn't he?" Balthazar had a suspicious tone to his voice, but Dean brushed it off, armed himself, and made his way to where he was stationed for the morning. This was one of the rare occasions that Dean had been stationed with Balthazar, so the tall blonde followed.

Upon stepping outside the barracks, they could see helicopters landing. They stood and watched for a while, seeing women stepping out of the Helicopter and being escorted away from the landing pads.

"Do the Milwoods never sleep?" Balthazar muttered as he followed Dean towards house Novak.

"Not if there's money to be made at every turn," Dean responded, shaking his head. "Delegation from Helena."

"Been a while since there's been people from Helena behind these walls," Balthazar observed. "Ever seen one of their kids before?"

"They keep 'em hidden. 's the law."

"You think that kid's the one?"

"The chosen one's a myth, Balth," Dean said. "It's just a story they tell kids to give them hope in something going right in the future."

"Aren't you a freaking joy?" Balthazar grumbled.

"I'm amazing," Dean chuckled, shoving Balthazar in the shoulder as they walked.

~*~*~

The day was slow. Dean stood around pretending to be interested in his duties all day while sharing looks with Balthazar, and thinking about his escape plan. He was running it through his head over and over again, making sure it was all making sense and there were no faults that could ruin the whole thing. He needed to get out of Kansas and away from their stupid laws, and he needed Sam and Castiel to go with him. Sam, he knew, wouldn't hesitate to follow him wherever he went. Castiel however was another story. Castiel had promised he'd follow Dean wherever he went, but when it comes to it, whether he would actually do it or not was the real question. Could Dean really leave him behind and just take Sam if he refused to leave the city?

Balthazar was switched with for lunch and hour or so before Dean was. Dean couldn't hide the relief he felt when Morgan finally came up to swap with him. He'd been so busy talking to Balthazar all morning that he'd forgotten to grab breakfast before starting his shift.

On the way past, a guard stopped him, sending him up on a detour to see Castiel. Dean just sucked it up and went to see what Castiel needed.

"I need these filled by early afternoon," Castiel said.

"Yessir," Dean said, taking the list from him. Castiel stepped a little closer, lowering his voice right down to a whisper only Dean could hear.

"Something is happening with my Guardian. It could change everything, Dean, I couldn't bring it up to him. After the Jubilee tonight, we'll leave. Just like we planned." Dean could barely fight his smile at Castiel's words, but he sucked it up when Castiel stepped back again. "That'll be all. Thank you."

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Dean found Michael waiting there and he wanted to scream. He tried to walk past, but Michael wouldn't let him go out of sight.

"Come with me," he said.

"Yeah, I'd love to, but I haven't had my break yet. Come find me later," Dean said, taking another few steps away.

"Now, Dean," Michael said, no room for argument there. With an irritated sigh, Dean followed him.

When they got up to the tower quarters the Archangel was staying in, Dean opened his mouth to question his motives, but instead got attacked from the side. Dean was quick to remember everything he'd ever been taught, spinning out of harm's way and drawing his sword, quickly blocking another oncoming attack.

Michael stood aside, watching the fight take place as he analysed everything that was happening, from the way Dean ducked out of the way, to the way he made dives and jabs at his opponent. He was pleased with how far Dean had come.

Dean finally got the upper hand almost fifteen minutes later, pinning his opponent to the wall with his blade pressed to his throat.

"Okay, okay, I give," the man said. "You trained him well, Michael."

"Dad?" Dean asked, utter shock filling him. "How did you get here?"

"I came back last night. To see you. To talk," John responded as Dean stepped away and sheathed his sword again. Dean shook his head.

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say," he said. "You gave me up. You gave _Sammy_ up. A scribbled note left in the night made that very damn clear. Do you remember what it said, dad? 'cause I do, and so does Sam. _"You and your brother will be orphans now, Dean. Take care of him."_ Want to see me my ass."

"Dean, nothing has been done that hasn't been absolutely necessary," John argued.

"Necessary?" Dean spat. "Do you realise that when you made me and Sam orphans, we were stuck in the lowest caste? V1. V friggin' 1. If I hadn't become a soldier, I wouldn't have had anywhere to sleep or anything to eat. I wouldn't have been able to sneak food out for Sam so he wouldn't starve. If Sam hadn't become a medic, he wouldn't have a bed either, he'd have been in the streets. You basically left us to die!"

"This isn't the life I'd have chosen for you and your brother, Dean, none of it is," John said. Dean ignored him, turning on the Archangel that was silently watching the encounter.

"You knew all along, didn't you?" Michaels silence confirmed it.

"Dean," John said.

"You can go back to whatever hole you crawled out of. You don't have sons," Dean said venomously, storming out of the room and grumbling to himself angrily.

How dare he? Dean couldn't believe John had the audacity to show up after almost fifteen years. Dean had been eleven when he'd abandoned them to die, and Sam was only seven. Every scrap Dean had found for food went to Sam for the time they were orphans in the V1 sector. When Dean was of age to join the AA Corps, he did. He jumped straight up to V3 with three meals a day, while Sam was a couple of years behind him in becoming a medic and at least getting a little snack a day with the V2 sector, on top of whatever Dean snuck out for him and whatever Jess handed off to him under desks in the infirmary wings.

Dean was full of rage, and hurt, and hatred when he got back to the barracks. He'd been gone longer than he'd planned with Michael and John, but the list Castiel had given him was an excuse to see him and didn't exist, seeing as everything was already prepared for the Jubilee that night. Dean couldn't wait to leave. It was the most important thing on his mind now.

He finally ate food and did his last rotation before the Jubilee, then sat in the barracks waiting for orders to go and take his place in the House Novak skybox.

He was sharpening his sword when his brother showed up, albeit a tad late. Dean didn't pay mind to him for a few minutes, and Sam sensed that something was wrong. Sam always knew when something was wrong with his big brother. He'd been around him long enough to know this stuff.

"You're sharpening that like you're gonna kill somebody," Sam commented, taking a seat beside him.

"Yeah, you," Dean said. "You're late."

"I had a patient to see too. They wouldn't sign me off for the night until I'd done it," Sam excused.

"I'm sorry," Dean sighed, waving aside his excuse as he placed his blade down. "I had a bad day."

"You wanna talk about it?" Sam asked. Dean shook his head. He didn't want Sam to have the burden of knowing his father dared come back after all this time.

"It's in the past. I'll be fine," he said. Before Sam could try and talk him into having a moment, he continued. "Sammy, you gotta make sure you're at the south entrance for the arena _on time._ It's restricted to V3 and above. Have you figured out a way to get in there yet?"

"Yeah, not a problem," Sam said, pushing his hair from his face.

"Ten tonight, Sammy, you understand me? You _can't_ be late this time," Dean stressed.

"Okay, Dean, I'll be there I swear," Sam promised. "What's happening, though? You're telling me all this and I don't know what's going on."

"You'll see. Just trust me, okay?" Dean said. "Sam, you can't tell anyone, got it?"

"Alright," Sam promised. Dean sighed, smiling lightly. Balthazar was across the room loading his weapons obnoxiously loudly, making Dean chuckled to himself. "Even Balthazar is more of a man than you, Dean." Dean grinned, laughing joyfully as his brother stood and slipped out of the barracks.

~*~*~

It was another hour and a half before Dean was making his way into the skybox with the Novaks, John, Michael, Balthazar and a few of the attendants. Dean stared forward, eyes continuously falling on Castiel, who was sat in the middle of the box looking incredibly handsome in his grey suit. Dean had to fight his self-discipline to stop the smile that was threatening to pull his lips up into a little curve.

Dean wanted to voice a complaint when John moved to stand beside him, but he kept quiet and kept facing forward, only taking any notice of anything John wanted when a photo was handed to him. The blonde in the photo was smiling brightly at the camera, eyes sparkling with life and love.

"I never knew there were photos of mom," Dean said quietly.

"This is the only one," John said. "It's been my good luck charm all these years... now it's yours."

John said nothing more as he moved back to the other side of the box. Dean stared at the photo of his mom a little longer before tucking it away safely and standing back to attention.

David Milwood was soon on his feet, and the event was beginning. There was a speech to begin, about how the city was strong and resourceful, and would remain so long into the future. Dean was almost asleep on his feet and the event had only really been happening for all of five minutes so far.

Dean was startled out of his half-sleep by David's announcement before the entertainment kicked off.

"It is with great pleasure, that I announce to you all the engagement of Castiel Novak, to Lilith Milwood."

Dean almost choked on air as he looked at Castiel, who's face had paled ever so slightly more than it usually was, and who's expression was nothing but shock and confusion. Castiel eventually stood and took a step forward, as did Lilith over in the other box.

"Through their marriage," David continued, "we will join our city's two greatest houses; the house of Novak and Milwood, therefore securing our safe future on this wondrous day."

Dean blanked out everything after that. Nothing sat in his head, and he took no note of anything that was happening or being said. Castiel was locked in an arranged marriage now. It was tonight, or the escape didn't happen at all. Dean paid attention to absolutely nothing until an eightball was brought out in chains. People screamed in horror, but David assured everyone it was safe. Michael questioned General Novak about this, but the General knew nothing of it. Dean's hand instinctively moved to rest on his sword, gripping tighter when he heard Michael breathe the name _Gabriel._

Chaos soon erupted when the eightball broke free. People were running, scrambling and trampling over each other to get out of the arena and out of harm's way, but some still didn't make it alive. Michael was immediately on the scene to take down the eightball, and Dean was shoving through people to get out and find his brother in all the mayhem that was around him. The alarm system started to scream, only adding to the nightmare that was taking place.

"Dean!" The older Winchester swung around, seeing Castiel trying to get to him.

"Dean!" He swung around again, trying to find where Sam's voice had come from. With an apologetic glance back to Castiel, Dean kept moving.

"Sam? Sam where are you?!" Dean yelled.

When Dean finally found Sam, he was on the floor trying to get up without being stepped on too much. Even for a guy as tall as Sam, situations like this weren't easy to deal with.

"Sam, are you okay?" Dean asked, pulling his brother to his feet. Sam nodded, and Dean turned around again upon hearing his name.

"Dean!" Castiel had pushed away from his guardian and was making his way to Sam and Dean. When he reached them, he shared a kiss with Dean before letting him pull him out of harm's way and down a side corridor very few knew about.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Castiel suddenly said.

"We don't have time for that now," Dean said, holding his hand tighter as they moved.

Knowing exactly where they should be right now, Dean lead them first to the saferoom, and he paused with his hand over the control pad.

"Let's go. Leave, right now, tonight," he said. "Just like we planned, Cas. Just me, you and Sammy."

"Leave the city?" Castiel questioned. "It's under attack, Dean, this is code red."

"It's perfect! By the time anyone comes looking for us, we'll already be half way to Vega," Dean said.

"I can't. Not right now. My guardian needs me, Dean, and Kansas needs _us_. We have to stay and protect the city. We'll work this out, just like we always do. Nobody is going to tell me who to marry."

"What makes you think we'll have a choice, Cas?" Dean asked desperately. "If we go through that door, we're staying and we're never gonna get this opportunity again."

"I promise, Dean. I promise I'll make it right and we'll figure it out. Please, just don't leave me," Castiel said, kissing Dean lovingly, letting his apologies and regret flood into the action. With a defeated sigh, Dean opened the door, and the three of them moved into the room.

"Sir, what's-" Dean cut himself off, seeing Michael on the camera feed. He was fighting an angel. He only hung around for a couple of seconds before he was making his way out of the room again.

"What are you doing?" John asked, grabbing his arm as he passed.

"Michael needs my help," Dean said.

"Michael can handle himself," John said.

"Get out of my way," Dean snapped.

"If this bunker's breached, all of Kansas' leaders are within these walls. Castiel? He's your responsibility. You are needed here," John argued.

"I'm needed out there more," Dean responded. Before he could leave, the cameras came back on after a brief shut down, and Dean looked at them. Michael was pulling himself up and stumbling through what was left of the power plant. The angel he'd been fighting was still very much alive, grinning smugly as he flew away.

Brief, quiet conversations took place around the room as Dean continued to watch the camera feed, wanting to make sure Michael didn't get attacked or something. Wasn't there two angels? What happened to the second one? Everyone was so occupied with other matters, that no one noticed the child from Helena grabbing a knife until it had been rammed into John's chest. The child very quickly latched onto the walls and climbed out through an air vent as John collapsed into Dean's arms.

"Dad?" Dean asked, carefully lowering him as they both went down. "Dad?! Oh God, I need a med kit!"

John smiled weakly, reaching up and placing a hand on Dean's face. Dean was still trying to put some kind of pressure on the wound, but there was too much blood to keep control of.

"You're ready, Dean. I believe in you," John said quietly. "It's you. You are the chosen one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone has already asked, so I'm noting here in case anyone else is wondering: Yes, for the first few chapters just to get this going, I will be closely following the Dominion storyline, except with the SPN characters instead. After a point, I'm going to turn off and take it in my own direction, occasionally going back to Dominion plots when they're important.  
> Trust me, I got this.
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed so far, thank you to those who've commented and left kudos, it means a lot, and I hope you continue to enjoy this. :3


	3. III

Dean's head was spinning, and he suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. Everything else around him seemed to fade away for a moment as he watched his father take his last breath before his eyes slipped closed. John Winchester had breathed for the last time in his eldest son's arms, right after dropping the biggest bombshell in the world on his shoulders. Dean didn't want to believe it. He wasn't The Chosen One. Right up until the age of eleven, Dean had always had John there, and Sam too. He wasn't the chosen one. There was no way.

"The last words from a dying brain," David said, frowning down at the Winchesters. Dean was thankful he wasn't the only one who didn't believe this. "The man was hallucinating. Ridiculous."

Just as conversation was about to begin again, the tattoos faded slowly from John's skin, soon transferring to Dean's. Dean frowned when he felt all eyes on him. The eyes with the most question in them were Sam's.

Dean unbuckled the sleeves of his shirt and looked at the markings that now sat on his arms, then repeated the check on his stomach. The tattoos were everywhere. Dean frowned more as he stood slowly. Castiel watched him for a second before kneeling down.

"Get up," Dean said quietly. "Cas, get up." Cas did, still looking at him in awe and disbelief.

The woman of Helena was arrested and taken from the room along with all the others she brought with her. While the arrest was taking place, Castiel's eyes were searching Dean for some kind of movement or thought. Dean felt lost now. Was he really the chosen one?

His mind tuned back into what was going on around him somewhere into David and General Novak talking; or maybe even arguing, it was hard to say with the two of them.

"...You knew what you were doing. I'm not sure that she did," Novak was saying.

"Kansas has become unfocused, and so have you," David said. "My little demonstration couldn't have worked any better. Now we'll all be ready for the battle that's coming." He turned to Dean, who still had blood drying on his hands. "So, Dean Winchester, show us your arms."

Dean pulled up his sleeves, allowing everyone in the room to take a proper look at the new marks there. It would've been a lie if anyone in that room at that moment had said they weren't feeling shocked by this revelation. It was the most shocking thing to have happened in weeks, and by far the biggest event to occur.

"Who's that?" David asked as his eyes fell on Sam.

"Sam," Dean said.

"Designation?" David questioned.

"V1," Dean answered.

"V1?! What the Hell is he doing in here?" David exclaimed.

"He's my brother," Dean said, at the exact same moment as Castiel had responded with _"He's with me."_

Everyone looked at Castiel as he continued. "He's with me. He's under my protection; the protection of House Novak." Dean flashed a thankful smile, as did Sam.

"Well, he'd better be able to keep a secret, 'cause no one here is gonna breathe a word of this to anyone until we've figured everything out. Understood?" David said.

"He'll be quiet," Dean said firmly, more as a warning to Sam.

"I swear," Sam added.

Everyone looked at the main door when it was opened, and a very dusty, soot-covered Archangel stepped into the room.

"I'm fine," Michael said before anyone could speak.

"What happened?" Novak asked.

"The reactor was damaged, but containment held," he said, adding as an afterthought, "for now." Michael looked around the room, feeling something deep within him panging with sadness at the sight of John's body laying on the floor, still bleeding, though the blood was slowing now. He looked to the spot the knife had been picked up from, then lifted his gaze to meet the room. "The boy was an angel. Another member of the powers. That's why he was able to pass though our scanners. John was right, more than one higher Angel has joined Raphael in his war against us."

"Damn it," Novak muttered.

Michael knelt for a brief moment in front of Dean before standing again and looking at him. "Cover up. Make sure none of the tattoos show." He turned to address the room. "Dean is the baby I saved all those years ago. He is under my protection."

Michael gave Dean a look, and he knew that meant he had to follow, so he did so. He had a lot of questions for the Archangel anyway, and he desperately needed answers.

The two of them remained silent during their short journey up to Michael's quarters, but the silence allowed Dean to get lost in his thought and his questions and his own self-hatred, bringing on a headache much faster than he'd have liked. For now, though, Dean ignored his growing headache in favour of trying to figure out what the Hell he was supposed to do now.

~*~*~

"You were never alone."

"What?" Dean looked over at Michael.

"When John left, you were never alone. Nor was Sam. I watched over you both, specifically you. I made sure you joined the army. I formed the Archangel Corps so that I could stay close to you without arousing suspicion. Everything was done so you could train in secret. No one could know who you were."

"Am I supposed to thank you?" Dean asked. "Thank dad for all of this?"

"No, it just is," Michael said. "As your father, John held the tattoos on his body for when you were ready to take them for yourself. He knew it could've ended his life some day."

"I'm not ready. I'm no saviour. I can barely save myself," Dean said, shaking his head.

"You are. It's up to you to decipher the tattoos," Michael said. "I bore them on my body before they were transferred to John's, but they were always meant for the chosen one."

"First the tattoos were on you, then they were on dad, and now they're on me. How do I know they're not meant for someone else?" Dean asked. "What are they?"

"Our fate," Michael answered. "Our hope, written in a language long since forgotten, one even I don't know." He paused for a moment. "Can you show them to me?"

"I guess," Dean said quietly, standing and pulling off his shirt. Michael stood with him, dark eyes travelling over the markings that now littered Dean's body.

"Can you read them?" Michael asked, still looking at them.

"I can't," Dean said, looking down at the ones that wrapped around his wrists.

"You must," Michael told him, lifting his gaze to meet Dean's green eyes. "This is war, and only one side can win. What's in those tattoos will guide you through what's to come. They will lay out the path through which mankind can be redeemed and Raphael and his legions pushed back, but this path will not be easily traversed. At every step, you must choose which course to take. I believe you are the only one who can end this war."

"I'm just a man, Michael. How can you be so sure that I'm the answer to everything and then some?" Dean asked.

"Nothing is ever certain, but John had hope, Dean," the Archangel responded. "He had faith in you, and so do I. Try. Can you discern anything at all?"

Dean looked at his arms again, waiting for something to just seem so obvious that it should've been seen straight away. He was about to reply again when the marks around his lower left arm seemed to move and twist into something new. Dean frowned to himself. He should probably tell Michael, but then again, why should he?

"No, I can't," Dean said. With a soft sigh, Michael nodded. That was enough for one night.

~*~*~

Dean couldn't bear to see his father's body burning to ashes. Sam stayed to let out his emotions and mourn for their father, but Dean didn't. Dean snuck a bottle of scotch from Balthazar's locker, and he drank the pain away, just as he always did at times like this.

He spent a while locked in the shower rooms of the barracks, scrubbing at his skin to try and get rid of the tattoos as if they were just pen marks, but they wouldn't budge no matter what he did. He couldn't read them, nor could he get rid of them, and that just didn't sit well with him. After everything that had happened in his life, he'd thought just once he'd get a break from it all, but that just wasn't how things worked for him.

It was an hour later when he stumbled into House Novak, finding Balthazar on duty. His friend frowned upon seeing him trying to walk totally straight.

"What are you doing here?" the slightly blonder man asked. "I thought you had the night off?"

"I need to see Castiel," he said, slightly slurring his words.

"It's the middle of the night," Balthazar said.

"It's none of your business, Balthazar," Dean said.

"It is now. You're drunk, Dean," Balthazar said. "Go home and sober up."

"Balth," Dean said, trying to pass him. Balthazar quickly had him in a headlock.

"You're about to end up in the infirmary," Balthazar warned. He looked up when a door opened. Castiel appeared, frowning softly.

"Balthazar, it's fine, let him in," he said. With a soft sigh and a nod, Balthazar released Dean, and Dean slipped into Castiel's room.

The conversation started out as normal as it could with drunk Dean trying to convince Castiel to leave as planned, but Castiel was having none of it. He'd had a change of heart somewhere along the line and no longer wanted to leave. In his drunk state, Dean lashed out, calling him spoilt, and in return Castiel called him an ugly drunk. Castiel eventually sent him away, and Dean left surprisingly fast, leaving Castiel to sleep with tears silently escaping his eyes.

~*~*~

Dean was straight back to work the following morning, though with the new addition of a hangover pounding in the back of his head like a curse. It made him wish to whoever was listening that he hadn't been such an idiot, but it was something he couldn't undo now. Of course, Balthazar was less than willing to leave it alone.

"So how long have you been banging Castiel Novak?" he asked.

"No one knows about this, Balth," Dean said warningly.

"Hope not," Balthazar responded.

"Hey, you need to keep it quiet," Dean said.

"You know you can trust me," Balthazar promised. Dean smiled a tired thanks, turning when he heard his name.

"Winchester."

"Yeah?" The lead of his division handed him a slip of paper. "What's this?"

"New orders," he said.

"What is it?" Balthazar asked when the soldier had gone. Dean's eyes skimmed over the paper.

"Security detail reassignment. House Milwood," Dean huffed.

"Damn," Balthazar muttered. "Now I can't fuck with you on duty!"

Dean chuckled lowly, pushing the paper into his pocket and heading out. "Suck it up, Balthazar!"

Dean wasn't amused to find Michael waiting for him outside. He wanted just one good day this week, and clearly this wasn't going to be it. The Archangel followed him down the path, and Dean wanted to yell and hit something in frustration.

"We need to talk," Michael said.

"I'm done talking," Dean responded.

"You're in danger, Dean. Things have changed," Michael said.

"For you, maybe, but not for me. I got a job to go do. Leave me alone," Dean responded. Michael wouldn't back down, though. Sweeping forward, he hooked his arms beneath Dean's as his wings unfolded, and before Dean could make an escape, they were going upwards.

Michael took Dean to his room in the stratosphere, and Dean stumbled as he landed. He didn't like being man handled like that, especially not by an Angel.

"Raphael knows about you," Michael said.

"What does he know, that I have the tattoos?" Dean asked.

"He's more dangerous than you think," Michael insisted. "You're a target, Dean."

"But I'm the chosen one, right?" Dean said, sarcasm dripping from his words like venom from a snake's fang. "If I'm the one that's gonna save the human race, I must be pretty powerful, right? If I'm gonna unite mankind, I gotta fight Angels like you."

"I'm not your enemy," Michael said lowly.

"I didn't feel that way when you were whipping me!" Dean snapped.

"Things are different now," Michael said, seeming to brush that situation aside like it meant nothing. Dean felt his temper spiking dangerously. "You're going to have to trust me, Dean."

"Trust you?" Dean snorted. "Why would I ever do that? Everything you ever told me was a lie!"

"Dean-"

"I was able to read one of those tattoos last night."

Michael frowned. "What?"

"You wanna know what it said?" Dean asked. " _Beware those closest to you._ " Michael's face hardened as Dean started to walk away. "You stay away from me."


	4. IV

Dean was furious as he walked down from Michael's quarters to get to where he was supposed to be. Not only was he now a little late because of that righteous asshole, but he was now in an awful mood from being manhandled like that. Not even Sam was ever allowed to do that to him, and Sam was all he had left in this cruel world to rely on.

Other soldiers questioned him as he hurried up the steps into the Milwood Tower, but he didn't stop. He didn't have the time to stop. Anna was on duty when Dean got up to the floor he was meant to be on, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked.

"Got reassigned. Going where I'm told to," he responded.

"Mr. Winchester." Dean looked over, seeing David Milwood approaching.

"He knows your name, dude," Anna muttered. Dean gave her a look, and she shrugged, leaving the room when David told her too.

"You know what I did before the war?" David asked.

"No sir," Dean responded. David launched into a story about religion and preaching, and honestly? Dean didn't even listen. None of it meant a thing to him. David was talking bullshit, but Dean assumed he was trying to make sure Dean didn't tell anyone about the tattoos. He simply nodded, assuring him that he'd keep quiet about them.

"You're a smart man, Dean," David complimented. "You'll do fine."

"Consul, I've been with House Novak for four years now," Dean said. "And today, of all days, I get transferred to House Milwood. Why?"

"I didn't order your transfer," David said with a shrug. "General Novak did."

Dean felt his blood boil. Of course it was Novak that had ordered his transfer. He'd seen him and Castiel share a kiss, a longing look and a gentle touch the night John died. General Novak didn't want Castiel to be with Dean, and this was, in his eyes, the best way to ensure they stayed apart.

Dean looked up from his fisted hands when the door opened, and Lilith stood sheepishly in the doorway, long blonde hair curled neatly around her face, hanging down over her shoulders.

"Sorry to intrude," she said.

"No intrusion. Sergeant Winchester has just been assigned to our side of the towers," David said. Lilith shifted uncomfortably on her feet before nodding, beckoning for Dean to follow her. Knowing it was a polite order from her, he followed.

"I, uh, apologise, for my father," Lilith said as she and Dean walked through the market place. "He's a narcissist of the highest order." She paused. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you both talk about?"

"He warned me about the pitfalls of fame," Dean commented. Lilith laughed quietly, smiling almost shyly. She stopped in her tracks when a woman spoke to her, smiling and handing a slip of paper to her before sending her on her way with a smile. Lilith looked at Dean again, seeing the confused expression.

"Extra rations and medical care for those who desperately need it," she said.

"I didn't know you did that," Dean said quietly, a little admiration building for the woman. Lilith smiled.

"Yes, well, House Milwood isn't the big bad wolf Lord Novak makes us out to be," she said.

"Your father's idea?" Dean asked.

"No, not exactly," Lilith said, ruffling her curls a little to loosen them out. "Charity isn't exactly his strong suit. Dean- um, I can call you Dean, right?"

"Sure," Dean said with a slight shrug.

"I can only imagine what it must be like to walk in your shoes. The, uh, burden that's been placed upon you," she said, smiling softly as she placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. "If you ever want to talk to anyone about anything at all, I'm here. I've always been here, waiting to be of service to you."

"I, uh... thanks, Lady Milwood," Dean said, unsure what else could be said. She shook her head.

"Lilith," she said.

"Lilith," Dean repeated. She smiled brightly, nodding once before turning to walk away. She stopped in her tracks though.

"Oh! I forgot," she said, pushing her hand into her pocket then handing Dean a slip of paper. "Give this to your brother. A gift, let's say. I know he's not V-1, but he still doesn't get the food you and I do, so this is to make sure he _does_ get it, and tell him that I thank him for taking care of his patients so well. Some of his patients have been my staff and they always speak so highly of Sam Winchester's care."

"I will, thank you Lady- uh, Lilith," Dean said. She smiled, nodding again before turning and making her way back towards her tower. Dean took that as meaning he was dismissed. With a sigh, he shook his head and pushed his brother's extra ration ticket into his pocket for safe keeping.

~*~*~

Dean went to check on Sam when his shift was over that night. He was with Castiel, learning a little more about the history of the city and how everything had been before the war had began. Sam's eyes were full of fascination, and Dean always held onto those looks with all he could. Sam's mind was always ready to learn something new, no matter how little or how much he took in. He was so smart, and Dean would never be able to find the words to tell him how proud he was of him.

When Castiel finished speaking, before Sam could start, Dean knocked the doorframe, smiling when they both looked at him.

"Knock knock," he said.

"Dean, hey," Castiel said.

"Dean," Sam said, smiling.

"Heya, Sammy," he greeted, giving his brother's hair a ruffle before flashing Castiel a charming smile. "You two been having fun up here?"

"Cas was teaching me the parts of the history we never got told when we were kids," Sam informed him.

"Yeah? Anything worth remembering?" Dean asked. Sam gave him a look, and Dean grinned, making Castiel laugh quietly to himself. Dean pushed his hand into his pocket and felt the paper, pulling it out and handing it to Sam. Sam gave him a questioning look. "Lilith sent it over for you. Says it's a thank you for all the hard work you do for your patients. She says a lot of her staff have been your patients and talk highly of you all the time."

"You think that might mean I get taken up to V-3 someday?" Sam asked.

"Maybe," Dean said with a shrug. "Keep workin' hard, and one day you'll find out."

"If you see her again, tell her I said thanks," Sam said, tucking the ticket into his jacket pocket. He got decent meals while staying in Novak's Tower, but he knew he'd have to leave soon, so he'd keep his ticket safe for that moment.

Dean stayed for a while, spending time with his little brother and Castiel. He didn't get much downtime anymore, so he savoured every moment he got. Sam eventually excused himself to get cleaned up for bed, since he needed to get up and work the following morning. Dean called a goodnight after him, and when he was gone, he looked back at Castiel.

"You're not spoiled," Dean said guiltily. Castiel smiled, shaking his head.

"That's the one thing I am, actually," he corrected.

"If you want to stay in Kansas, that's fine, I get it, I do. We'll work it out together, just like we always do," Dean said.

"Really?" Cas asked, smiling. Dean nodded. Castiel hugged him tight. "Thank you."

The kiss they shared lead to many things, and Dean was glad Sam had already gone to bed. The last thing Dean needed was his little brother walking in on him banging the General's adopted son.

The two laid together for a while after, appreciating the peace that they found. Castiel was gently tracing the tattoos on Dean's body, and Dean looked at him.

"They're beautiful. Aren't you even curious about them?" he asked, trailing his finger to the ones on his chest.

"I'd burn 'em off if I could," Dean snorted. "Hell, maybe I can."

"Dean," Castiel scolded. "You wouldn't."

"Are you worried about me? Or them?" he asked.

"That's not fair," Castiel said.

"Fair? You're not the one with graffiti scribbled all over your body, Cas," Dean said.

"It's a gift, Dean," Castiel said.

"For who?" Dean asked. Castiel didn't respond, just placed a kiss on Dean's shoulder before letting him up to get ready to leave for the night before he was caught.

As Dean made his way down the corridor, he bumped into one of the staff that had been said to be helping take care of Sam when he wasn't working in the infirmary. She had a tray of coffee service that ended up crashing to the floor when they collided.

"Ah, son of a bitch!" Dean cussed, crouching to help her pick it up. "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm.. I'm fine," she said, glancing at Dean's arm for a second before looking to his face. Dean frowned, placing down the pieces he'd started to clear before standing slowly and pulling his gun from his holster. Before he could do anything, wings shot from the woman's back and disarmed him before sending him flying back against the wall. Dean grunted, sliding down and shaking the dizziness from his head.

"Dean?" Sam's tired voice called.

"Sam get back!" Dean yelled. Sam was immediately awake when he saw the angel, and Castiel was soon stood beside him, setting off the alarms. Sam shoved Castiel back when the angel's wing swung around, and he yelped when he was slammed against the pillar. "Sammy!"

"Leave them alone!" Castiel yelled, grabbing a tray from the table. The angel just grabbed him by the throat and threw him aside.

"Cas!" Dean yelled, gritting his teeth and pushing himself to his feet. He jumped the angel before she could hurt Sam or Cas anymore, and the two of them fell into the elevator.

Thinking fast as they ended up tumbling into the kitchen, Dean shot a couple of times at the angel before releasing one of the gas pipes. When he turned on the stove, the gas set alight, giving Dean a few seconds to cover himself before it exploded, setting the angel's wings on fire along with some of her clothing. In a panic, the angel started flailing, and fell from the kitchen window. Dean didn't stick around to watch where she was going.

He was at the infirmary in record time, finding both Sam and Castiel laying in beds. Jess was fussing over Sam, and Sam was trying to assure her he was fine, just bruised. Cas had a small cut on his head, but nothing was serious. Dean felt relief flood his body. Without them noticing, he slipped out and went back to the barracks. He knew he couldn't stay now, not while his brother and lover were at risk while he was around.

Dean shoved his few belongings into his bag along with the photo of his mother, then took a couple of guns before sitting down and pulling on his boots. As he was lacing them up, Castiel was hurrying towards him with Sam half limping along behind him. Dean cursed mentally, but stood to greet them anyway. Cas was immediately hugging him.

"Dean, the medics said they hadn't seen you so they hadn't been able to treat you. No one knew where you were. Are you okay? I've been going out of my mind! I-" Castiel frowned, looking him over. "Why are you dressed like this?"

"You're _leaving_?" Sam asked.

"Cas, you and Sammy could've been killed because of me. It's not gonna change, so I have to go," Dean said.

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed.

"I'm a target right now," Cas argued. "I'm going with you."

"No, Cas, you're not," Dean said, immediately regretting it at the look in Castiel's soft blue eyes. But he couldn't take it back. He had to protect him. And Sam, too.

"Dean, I'm coming whether you like it or not, and so is Sam," Castiel said.

"No, you're not! Neither of you! You're both staying here!" Dean snapped.

"I'm not afraid, Dean, I can handle this!" Castiel insisted.

"Yeah? Well I _am_ afraid, Cas," Dean told him. "I need you to stay alive, damn it. If anything ever happened to you, I'd never live with myself. I'm going alone."

"So what, this is goodbye?" Castiel asked.

"For now, yes," Dean said, picking up his bag and making his way out.

"Dean wait!" Sam called, going after him as fast as his aching body would let him.

"Sammy, you're staying here too, you understand me?" Dean said.

"No, Dean, you're not going alone. If you won't take Cas, you're taking me," he said. Dean spun to look at him.

"What are you even doing out of the infirmary?" Dean asked.

"Jess," he said. "She twisted a few things around, stashed me some pain meds to help with the healing, and she sent me to find you. Nothing is broken, and there's no internal damage. It's all just major bruising and a sprain in my left knee. I'll be fine in a few days."

"Sam, you were _hurt_ because of me. You're not coming outside these walls where the risks of getting hurt are even higher than they are if you stay in here," Dean said stubbornly. Sam was even more stubborn.

"I'm going whether you like it or not, Dean, and if it's not with you, I'm going alone and I'll find you again," Sam said. Dean growled angrily.

"You're being ridiculous, Sam-"

"And you're not?" Sam scoffed. "Dean, come _on_. We need each other and you know it."

"Sammy please-"

"You're the one dad gave that letter to when he left, Dean," Sam said. Dean frowned. "He told you in that letter that we gotta look out for each other now. How the Hell are we supposed to do that if you run off outside of Kansas without me, huh?"

"Damn it, Sam," Dean groaned, rubbing his hand over his face for a second. "Fine, alright, come with me. But you better remember how to fire a fucking gun, and you'd better do as I damn tell you."

"Deal," Sam said, taking the gun when Dean handed him one. He tucked it away under his jacket, then followed Dean.

"You're gonna need to get your stuff," Dean said. "Including the pain meds Jess stashed for you."

"Got it covered," Sam said, slipping into the V-2 quarters and returning with his bag in hand. Dean raised an eyebrow. "Got some stuff outta House Novak before I followed Cas down to see you."

"How'd you know I'd agree to this?" Dean asked, sneaking the two of them into the vehicle storage unit.

"I didn't," Sam admitted. Dean rolled his eyes, smiling triumphantly when he found the truck he'd been storing his supplies in. He and Sam climbed in, and Dean pulled out of the storage unit.

Dean was a bit annoyed when he didn't have to talk his way around the guards to get out. There were no guards on the entrance near the units. They'd figure out that was a bad idea once they realised Dean was gone, and eventually they'd notice Sam was missing too. By the time they'd noticed, they'd be long gone, Dean hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot of conversation and stuff, wow, that wasn't supposed to happen, I'm sorry. owo  
> At this point, I'm going to start trailing away from the Dominion storyline. There will still be aspects of it there, but I'm going to put my own twist on it and take it in my own direction.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's stuck with it this far, even though there's only like 3 chapters before this one. 300 hits is a big thing to me. I don't think I've had this many hits on an SPN story other than my Sabriel one-shot in the Domestic Winchesters series, so thank you all <3


	5. V

Someway into the drive, people in Kansas noticed Dean was missing, because they were radioing him to turn around and go back. Dean shut the radio off after they connected the dots and realised Sam was missing too.

While they drove, Dean was able to forget there was a war going on around them, even if it was only for a little while. He and Sam talked and laughed in a way they hadn't been able to in years. It made Dean feel so much lighter, like a weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders.

They'd found an overturned car out in the middle of nowhere. The couple had been heading to Kansas, but an eightball had attacked and flipped the car. The wife was dead, as was the eightball, but the man was still alive, though barely. Dean talked to him, calming him down and making him believe his wife was alive and okay with just a few scrapes and bruises. Once he was calm, Dean shot him, putting him out of his misery so he could be with his wife in the next life, and away from the war they didn't deserve to be a part of. Sam had stayed in the car and watched, frowning the entire time. Neither had spoken when Dean climbed back into the truck.

It was another few miles down the road when Dean had just started to pick up from what he'd seen and done again. He was cracking jabs at Sam when he noticed the figure stood in the middle of the road, his wings just folding in neatly and tucking away.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered.

"Who is it?" Sam asked, leaning forward to get a better look. "Is that Michael?"

Dean slammed his foot down, intending to do damage in his rage, but then he remembered his little brother was in the car and might get hurt, so instead he swerved and slammed on the breaks, missing Michael and only jolting Sam, making him his as his healing body jolted.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asked, watching his brother grab a gun and load it. Dean shoved open the door and told Sam to stay put. "Dean!"

"Where are you going?" Michael asked as Dean approached.

"I thought I made it perfectly clear that you need to leave me alone," Dean said.

"I've done that for far too long already," Michael said, eyes watching through the shadow the sun was casting on his face.

"I've never needed your help before, Michael, and I certainly don't need it now," Dean said.

"You don't have a choice," Michael responded, approaching the truck. He frowned a little when he spotted Sam sat watching him.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?" Dean asked, irritated.

"Well, I _was_ going to ride shotgun, but it seems your little brother is already there," Michael said, making his way to the back door of the truck's cab. He pulled open the door and climbed in behind Sam. Sam seemed uncomfortable, and that irritated Dean all the more. No one was allowed to make Dean's little brother uncomfortable except him.

Dean pulled open the back door, aiming his gun at Michael. Sam was watching through the rear-view mirror.

"Get out of the truck," Dean said.

"That's not going to happen, Dean," Michael said.

"I won't ask again," Dean threatened.

"Shame for you to lose that hand," Michael mused.

"Is that a threat?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A warning," Michael corrected. "I've been shot many times. Bullets have a way of doing mroe damage to the person firing them than they've ever been able to do to me."

Dean growled in frustration, moving away from the truck and kicking aside a stone as he muttered beneath his breath. He thought he'd finally be free from Kansas and it's rules, but it seems that there's always going to be a part of Kansas following him in the form of an Archangel.

"I'm going to Vega, and the only person coming with me is Sam," Dean said, turning to look at Michael again, who'd shut the door and rolled down the window to talk to him.

"You have no idea what awaits you there, Dean," Michael said.

"Want to know what's waiting for us there?" Dean asked, huffing out a laugh. "A life. _My life_. _Sam's_ life. Away from you, and away from anyone who wants to tell me and Sam what we're supposed to do and who we're supposed to be. So let's get this straight right now; what's it going to take for you to leave us alone?"

"One stop," Michael said.

"One stop? Where?" Dean asked.

"Better you learn when we arrive," Michael said. Dean sighed in annoyance, but caved, just wanting to be rid of the Angel.

"Okay fine. I make this stop with you, just this one, and then you let me go. You let me drive away with Sam, and you don't follow us," Dean said.

"Deal," Michael said.

"Alright. Fine. One stop," Dean reminded him, moving around to the driver's side of the car and slipping in, slamming his door shut with a little more force than he intended.

Nobody spoke as they drove. There was a tense silence filling the air, only breaking when Michael spoke to give Dean directions. Sam occasionally glanced over at Dean, silently making sure his brother was okay, then looked forward at the dirt roads again.

The silence was frustrating, because it meant Dean had time to think. He had time to think about the good he'd done, and the bad that seemed to outweigh it recently, including his choice to leave Castiel behind. He'd been planning for so long to run away with Cas so they could be together without anyone telling them they can't, yet here he was, on the road with Sam and no Castiel to make fun of him and Sam messing around all the time, or to warn Dean to keep his eyes on the road while Sam's feet were propped up on the dashboard. Sam's feet would be on the dash because Dean knew Sam would always call shotgun no matter what, and it was his way of not only staying close to his brother, but stopping him and Cas making out every opportunity they could. Sam didn't need to see that shit, or so he'd claim. But really, he did like watching them kiss, because he could see the pure happiness on both their faces. Dean knew that, because Sam had told him once after he'd first found out about them being together. Dean was just glad Sam was so okay with him being with another dude.

Michael finally alerted Dean to the fact they were at their destination. He directed Dean down a dirty, gravelly side road, and as they pulled to a stop, Dean could feel his heart racing. Michael got out of the car and walked a little away before stopping and waiting patiently for the brothers.

"Dean.." Sam said slowly.

"I know, Sammy," Dean muttered, eyes on the old white house. "I know."

"This is a bad idea, Dean," Sam said as his brother grabbed his gun again and pushed open the door.

"I know, but it means Michael will leave us alone now, so we can keep going to Vega and be free," Dean reminded him. With a sigh, Sam nodded and grabbed his own gun, then followed Dean out, closing the car door behind him.

"What are we doing here?" Sam asked.

"Your brother needs to see something," Michael said, making his way up the old, overgrown weed path.

"I'm seeing enough already, Michael, I don't need to be here," Dean said. Michael didn't speak, just pushed open the old door and stepped aside, letting Dean go in first, with Sam right behind him.

"This place is a mess," Sam commented. Dean nodded.

"Never cleaned it after-" Dean trailed off, gritting his teeth. "We just left. We didn't look back. We just grabbed you, and we ran. I carried you most of the way, even with Dad telling me to hand you over. I didn't wanna let you outta my sight, so I kept hold of you for as long as I could until I couldn't carry you much further."

Sam could feel the emotional tension in the air as Dean looked around, peering into old rooms, and physically cringing when he saw the dry blood still in the living room, still coating the wooden flooring and the old woollen rug twenty-two years later.

Dena suddenly gasped in pain, curling in on himself and leaning against the nearest wall. Sam frowned worriedly.

"Dean?" he called, moving to his brother. Michael, with a hand on his arm, stopped him.

"Leave him. This is something he needs to see," Michael said.

"But it's hurting him!" Sam fussed.

"I know, but it'll be over in a few seconds," Michael promised.

Dean's head was swimming as he watched John scrawling all over the walls of the spare room, yelling and drinking and trying to figure out the tattoos. Dean could see his father going mad, eventually drinking with one bullet in a gun. Russian Roulette. Dean shook himself out of it, panting hard as a thin layer of sweat coated his skin beneath his clothing.

"What did you see?" Michael asked.

"He was losing his damn mind trying to figure these stupid tattoos out," Dean said, picking up his gun from where it had dropped. He grabbed Sam's arm, pulling him along as he made his way out.

"Your father didn't come back here to hide, Dean, this place was his sanctuary," Michael called after him, following the brothers.

"A deal was a deal, Michael. We came here, now you're gonna leave us alone," Dean said, gently shoving Sam ahead of him to put as much distance between him and the Archangel as possible. "Get in the truck, Sam."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Sam said, pulling open the door.

"This house meant something to John," Michael called after them. "It's where you were moved after I saved you all those years ago, and it's where your mother died trying to protect Sam."

Dean tensed up, and Sam stopped with one foot on the step, preparing to push himself into the truck. Both looked over at Michael.

"What?" Sam asked. Michael nodded slowly.

"How much do you remember from that night, Dean?" Michael asked, approaching them again.

"I was four years old," Dean said, wishing he didn't still remember this night. "I was upstairs getting ready for bed. Dad was with me, making sure I cleaned my teeth properly that time. Mom was downstairs giving Sam his last feed of the night. I was just about to get into bed when a window broke, then mom screamed. Dad told me to stay in my room, but I followed him down."

"Dean.." Sam said slowly, hearing the pain in his brother's voice. He couldn't bear knowing Dean was hurting in some way. They were supposed to be getting away from all that.

"Mom was bleeding on the floor. There was an eightball," Dean continued. "No, there were like three of them, and there were more outside. It was like there was no escape. Mom was still holding Sam, and Sam was- he was crying. _Screaming._ My baby brother was afraid, and I didn't think twice about running past dad, and past the eightballs. Dad tried to stop me, but he just settled for beating the eightballs back while I grabbed Sam and grabbed a clean blanket from the couch to keep him warm and dry. Someone else came and started to fight the eightballs back, and dad told me to get out of the house. He told me to take Sam and to run, and he told me not to look back. Dad came out after me when I was at the end of the drive. All the eightballs were focused on whoever was still in the house, but mom wasn't with dad. I was too young to understand, but somehow I just _knew_. Mom was gone, and she was never coming back. I'd never see her again, but in that moment, all that mattered was Sammy."

Sam had tears rolling down his cheeks. He'd never heard this much of the story before. All he knew was that eightballs killed their mom and were the reason dad left them when they were so young. Michael had a look of sympathy in his eyes, but he was still expressionless, listening to Dean talking as the elder brother's own eyes started to fill with tears.

"I could've died that night, y'know. I could've been hurt, but all I wanted to do was save Sam. He's my little brother, and I'd give the world for him and he knows it. I'd take on everything the world has to offer alone if it means no one ever hurts him," Dean said, a tear falling down his face. He quickly brushed it away, sniffing back the sobs threatening to form in his throat.

"I was the one that saved your father that night," Michael said. "I was on my way to check on you, as I did every week. Once a month, your father would know I was coming, and your mother would have something to give to me as a thank you for what I'd done. Your mothers heart was of gold. But that night I knew something was wrong, and seeing the eightballs attacking made me panic for the first time in years. I didn't hesitate to attack. John wanted to stay for Mary, but I told him to leave until I told him it was safe to go back. He took off after you, Dean, and I watched him lift you both into his arms and run. He came back the next day while you two were with me and he burned and buried your mother to make sure no eightball could ever use her remains as a vessel.

"You were hugging my waist while I held Sam in my arms, and I told you both stories of the great future that would come when the war was over. It had taken a lot to get you to trust me with your brother, but you eventually let me take him for a while, but he was back in your arms before your father returned to get you to go to Kansas where he knew you'd both be safe. Whenever Sam was away from you, even for a second, he'd cry. It was like he mourned for everything he'd lost, and it was like he was praying to never lose what little he had left."

"I used to think he was the greatest dad," Dean huffed, shaking his head. "Taught me how to drive. Taught me how to shoot guns. I always shot up that old tree, and Sam always watched me, smiling and laughing proudly whenever I hit my targets. But of course, I didn't know that all that was so I'd have a chance of survival and a better chance of protecting Sam when he ditched us."

"John never wanted to leave. He fought me, told me it was cruel," Michael said.

Dean's tears dried up as his anger began to flood him again. He'd always known he'd hated Michael for some reason, and now he knew why. "It was you? You were the one who told him to leave us to fend for ourselves?"

"You had to be on your own, Dean. You had to struggle and fall in order to rise again," Michael defended.

"We needed a father! Wasn't it bad enough that our mom was murdered, but you had to make our dad leave us too?" Dean ranted.

"That's what John said," Michael said, voice starting to thicken with unshed tears. "You were the most important things in his life, you and Sam. He loved you more than anything in the world, yet he gave you up because he believed in you, and he knew you'd take good care of your brother, far better than he ever could. I believe in you, Dean, and in Sam too. I promised your mother before she died that I would protect you, and I promised John while he was writing that note that you and Sam would never come to harm while I still live and breathe, and I meant it. I will stop at nothing to keep you both safe."  
Dean watched in slight shock as tears started to roll down Michael's face. He'd never seen the Archangel cry before, so this was new to him, but it didn't change his decision. It was up to him to keep Sam safe now, regardless of what an Angel said.

"Get in the truck, Sammy," Dean said, brushing any last remains of tears from his face as he turned around again. Sam didn't question him at all, he just got in the truck and closed the door.

"Dean!" Michael called pleadingly. Dean didn't listen. He got in the truck, spared one last glance at Michael and his childhood home, then he turned the truck around and pulled away, leaving both the Archangel, and his childhood in the dust.


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _This is now my most viewed Supernatural story, wow._  
>  Thank you so much, guys, this is amazing. I hope I'm doing this fandom justice somehow. <3  
> In other news, I apologise for the sheer amount of dialogue that's in this, it just happened and I'm not very good at doing much that isn't dialogue D: But I hope you enjoy the update all the same, and I hope people continue to leave me kudos and stuff.  
> And also, thank you to the person who bookmarked this story! I always get excited when someone bookmarks my stuff. cx

The silence was so tense that it could be sliced through with a sword or a knife. Sam had so much he wanted to say to Dean; so much to ask him too, but he knew Dean would speak in his own time. Dean's memories were too fresh to be prodding at open wounds now and Sam knew that. But what he couldn't figure out is why Michael would suddenly bring all that up. What was he trying to achieve other than pissing Dean off? The more pissed off Dean got, the less likely he'd be to listen to any kind of reasoning, and Sam knew that from seeing it so many times when they were still V-1's.

Dean had been in so many pointless fights to protect Sam because his anger had gotten the better of him when he'd found out other kids were picking on Sam. The younger had always been the freak that didn't have parents or a guardian, and Dean had been right there with him so he'd never feel alone, but Sam knew differently now. They both had a guardian and always had, but he'd never been involved with them because he wanted Dean to struggle and fall like that, just so he could rise up again.

Dean felt like his head was going to explode. He had a raging headache that had hit him as soon as he'd started to remember that night when he was four years old. He'd never forget it so long as he lived. It'd haunt him for the rest of his life, and he knew now that his nightmares were going to come back because the memories were so fresh in his head.

He'd been four years old when he'd carried his brother away from being killed for no reason whatsoever. He'd been four years old when he'd first witnessed the new horrors that were controlling the country, and likely the rest of the world too, and there was nothing Dean could do but play his part while protecting Sam, just like he'd always done.

As they finally started to near their destination somewhere around an hour of silence later, Sam finally plucked up the courage to ask Dean about what had happened back there, preparing to be shot down immediately.

"Dean.." he said hesitantly. Dean made a soft noise of acknowledgement, eyes fixed on the road. "What Michael talked about back there, I... what was he talking about? Why did he get you to talk about that?"

"I don't know," Dean sighed. "And honestly? I don't care. Whatever he was trying to get out of it clearly didn't go according to plan, because we're not there, we're almost in Vega. We're almost safe and we're almost _free_ , Sammy."

"I know," Sam said, smiling softly. He reached over, squeezing Dean's shoulder. "Thank you, Dean."

"I just wish I had brought Cas, y'know? I only left him behind because I didn't think it'd be safe for him out here, but we've done pretty damn well for ourselves and we haven't run into trouble," Dean said regretfully.

"Don't jinx us, dude," Sam said, laughing breathily. Dean cracked his first smile in hours, and Sam felt relieved. He was breaking Dean out of his shell again before he retreated too far in to find. "Hey, think maybe when we're settled, we can get a message back to Kansas to get Cas out here?"

"Maybe," Dean said. "Maybe I could take a few people as backup and go get him myself. And Jess and Balthazar, too."

"You think they'd let us?" Sam asked.

"Only one way to find out, right?" Dean answered, looking briefly over at his brother with a small smile on his face. Sam smiled, looking forward. His eyes immediately widened.

"Dean!" he exclaimed. Dean's head snapped forward and his own eyes widened as his smile fell away.

"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed, slamming on the breaks and skidding to a halt barely a foot away from a man with dark skin and dark eyes. Everything about him screamed _bad_ and Dean didn't like it. The wings that had folded neatly against his back as Dean stopped only made him feel more uneasy.

"Dean Winchester," the man said.

"Stay here," Dean muttered to Sam, pulling his gun from the compartment between them. Sam nodded, no intentions of getting out of the car crossing his mind. Dean got out, closing the door behind him with his gun in his hand and ready to fire at a moment's notice. "Who are you?"

"Come now Dean, surely you've heard of me," the man mused, smirking as he looked at him. "My brother talks enough about me."

"Raphael," Dean said lowly. He nodded, chuckling. Other higher Angels slammed down around them, and one pulled open the passenger door of the truck and dragged Sam out.

"Let go!" Sam exclaimed.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, making a move to get to his brother. Before he could get too far, Sam was being held by an Angel wearing armour and holding a blade to his throat. Sam was struggling, trying to get free, but he wasn't succeeding. "Let him go, you jackass!"

"Now Dean, that's no way to talk to an Angel," Raphael mused.

"Let my brother go," Dean said, looking at Raphael again. "Make him let my brother go."

"I need your full attention before that happens, Dean," the dark skinned Angel said.

"You had my full attention the second my brother was under threat," Dean assured him, putting away his gun in an easy to reach place. "Please, Raphael, let Sam go. Let him get back in the car where he can't be hurt. Please."

"Dean," Sam said again, voice sounding breathy now. Dean glanced over, feeling his protective nature trying to take control of his logical thinking. He wanted to protect Sam and eliminate the threat, but he couldn't, not while there was a razor sharp looking blade pressed against the slightly tanned skin of his throat.

"Think of him as an insurance policy," Raphael said, shrugging. "You listen to me and leave the gun in your pocket, and I'll see to it that Sam is unharmed when we leave. If you try to hurt me or any of my men, then I'll have you restrained so you can watch your brother bleed to death, just like your mother did all those years ago."

Dean felt tears stinging his eyes and his body was trembling with anger and fear. He was angry that he'd been caught so close to safety and a new life, and he was afraid that they were going to hurt Sam.

"Fine," Dean said. "Promise me you won't hurt Sam if I listen to what you've gotta say to me."

"I give you my word, on my own soul be it," Raphael said, his hand over where his heart was located. "Sam will not be harmed while you and I have a chat." Dean nodded slowly, occasionally glancing at Sam to make sure he was okay. "Sources tell me that you're the Chosen One, Dean. Is that true?"

"What's it to you?" Dean asked. Raphael shrugged again, smirking.

"I know that the Chosen One is really the only one who can end this pointless war, and if it's you, I need to know, because you need to be alive," he said. Dean frowned. "See, while Michael has kept you safe all these years, he's really been using you. He's been preparing you to take this war in a whole other direction, and it won't be the direction that leaves everyone unharmed in the end."

"You're talking shit," Dean said.

"Believe what you want, Dean, but you'll see it my way eventually. Michael has a colourful past that he can't run from forever," Raphael said tauntingly. Dean stared at him, unsure of what to think. He looked over at Sam, who was watching him with confusion written all over his expression. Sensing nothing more was going to come of this brief meeting, Raphael waved his hand, the Angels backed off, and Sam was released.

"Sammy," Dean said, not thinking twice about rushing over and checking him over. "You okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Dean," Sam assured him, rolling his shoulders to shift the aches. Dean looked back at Raphael, who was smiling dangerously.

"I'm a man of my promises, Dean," he said. "I promised Sam would be unharmed, and he is unharmed."

"Thank you," Dean said quietly, feeling Sam grab his wrist tightly.

"You're welcome," Raphael mused. "Just know that Michael will betray you eventually, whether you realise that until it's too late or not, and on that, I give you my word, on my own soul be it."

Dean could feel the blood draining from his body as Raphael and his followers spread their wings and took off. Neither brother moved until the Angels were out of sight. They both quickly and silently got back into the truck, not hesitating to keep driving. Without all the stops and distractions, Dean knew they'd have been there hours ago, but as long as he got there alive, he wasn't worried at this point.

"Do you believe him? What he said about Michael?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Dean said. "I don't think I do. Michael's a jackass, and he's lied and kept secrets, but he kept us safe, Sam. He saved us the night mom died, and he's been watching our asses ever since, even if it was his fault we had to fight to survive in the first place. And you've seen the eightballs, right? The eightballs are Raphael's army, not Michael's. I have more reason to distrust Raphael than I do Michael."

"I go wherever you go, Dean, and I believe whatever you say," Sam promised. "If you believe Michael over Raphael, then I'm gonna trust you to be right."

"I know, and that scares me sometimes, Sammy," Dean said.

"What?" Sam asked, frowning. Dean just shook his head, sighing in relief when he finally pulled up to the gates of Vega. Only part of the city was above ground. The rest was hidden beneath the ground. It had been safe and never attacked in all the twenty-six years the war had been going on. Sam looked in awe of it. "Is this the place?"

"Yeah, Sam, this is it," Dean said, smiling when guards came out to greet them. "We're free now, Sam, and we're safe too."

"Identify yourselves," the guard said when Dean rolled down his window.

"Dean Winchester," Dean responded. "This is my brother Sam. We've both come here from Kansas. I met a guy while I was out on a raid a few weeks back, said we'd be safe here and treated like equals."

"Who was it you met with?" the guard asked.

"Crowley. Said his name was Crowley," Dean said. The guard nodded, speaking briefly into his radio.

"Delta, we have a truck out here from Kansas. Driver is Dean Winchester, passenger is his brother Sam Winchester. Dean says he met Crowley out on a raid a few weeks back and got invited here," he recited.

 _"Sergeant, bring them in. I'm sending Crowley down to confirm,"_ the voice on the other end responded.

"Roger that," the Sergeant said, letting his radio sit against his shoulder again. "Drive on in, let's get you boys out of sight in case there's angels nearby. Gonna scan you to make sure you're not possessed by highers, then we'll escort you in to meet Crowley."

"Thank you," Dean said, relief flooding his body. He looked over at Sam, who was smiling joyfully in disbelief. He was finally going to be treated equally to everyone else around him, including his brother, even though Dean had always treated him as an equal anyway.

"Is this really happening?" Sam asked, still trying to take it all in. Dean looked over at him as he pulled into the spot he was directed too. Sam was excited, he could see it in his tired eyes. Sam was like the excited child he used to be, and it warmed Dean inside to see.

"Yeah, Sammy, it is," Dean said. "I promised you we'd have a better life one day, and this is it." The Sergeant that had greeted them thumped the hood of the truck, and Sam and Dean both got out, keeping their guns in their pockets. They were patted down and granted permission to keep the guns until further notice, and they were both scanned. When everything was checked correctly, they were escorted up out of the entrance part of the building to where a man in a black suit stood waiting with a couple of guards.

"Hello boys," he greeted, English accent strong as he smiled welcomingly. "Dean, I was expecting you a couple of days ago."

"I know, I'm sorry, I got held up. Shit happened back in Kansas. I got out last night," Dean excused. Crowley shook his head, holding his hand out to shake Dean's before holding it out to the taller brother. "Crowley, this is my little brother Sam. Sammy, this is Crowley. He's the guy that told me we'd be safe here."

"Pleasure to meet you," Crowley said, shaking Sam's hand.

"You too," Sam said. "Thanks, for uh, for letting us be here."

"Pleasure," Crowley said, smiling. "Kansas doesn't sound that great, so I figured you'd like it better here."

"I like it already," Dean muttered. Crowley chuckled.

"Let's get you boys settled in for now then. We'll come back for your stuff later. There's some people I need you to meet," he said, dismissing the guards and motioning for the Winchester brothers to follow him. Once they were in an elevator, out of earshot of everyone else, he spoke lowly and quickly. "There's been stuff happening here, too. I can't explain until we're with the rest of the people I told you about. None of us are in charge, though. Meg is in charge of our group, which is what I invited you to be a part of Dean, but Meg isn't in charge of the city, hasn't been for a good few years now."

"God, you haven't got that stupid system here too have you?" Sam asked, frowning. He didn't want to be back at the bottom again. Crowley shook his head and Sam sagged in relief.

"I meant it when I said we're all treated as equals here, but it's complicated. Meg can explain it better than I can," he said. Sam and Dean just nodded, following him and playing along when he started to lead them through the market place. Sam was in awe of everything around them, but Dean was starting to notice the masks some people were wearing.

"What's with the masks?" he asked quietly.

"You'll get an explanation in a minute, I promise," Crowley said. Dean just nodded, deciding to suck it up and wait it out.


	7. VII

Crowley lead Sam and Dean down through a few tunnels, then eventually to a large, open space that looked like a huge living room, with a few beds shoved against walls and people dotted around the room. Something was settling with Dean, and it wasn't a bad something. He felt like he could trust these people, and he hoped Sam would go with it and trust them too.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please," Crowley said. Everyone's eyes turned to them, and a woman with long brown hair stood. "This is Dean Winchester, from Kansas, and his brother Sam."

"Dean, a pleasure to finally meet you," the woman said, shaking his hand. "I'm Meg. I'm the one in charge of this lot. You already know Crowley. He's my second in command. If something happens to me, he takes over."

"Good to put a face to a name," Dean said as she shook Sam's hand.

"Before we begin and officially introduce the rest of us, I need to know what you two can give to us. What are you capable of? What were you back in Kansas?" Meg asked.

"I was in the army. AA Corps. Sam was a medic and damn good at his job," Dean responded. Meg smiled, nodding.

"So you can handle a weapon well enough, and your brother knows how to help people. That's... that's good. We need that," she said, nodding again. "Well, all of us can fire a gun, but none of us were ever in the army, so Dean, I'm officially sticking you in charge of that."

"You got it," Dean said, nodding, folding his arms over his chest.

"Sam," Meg said. Sam looked at her as she beckoned over another brunette, around the same height, if not the smallest amount shorter. "This is Ruby. She's my best friend, and we've been together a long time. We grew up together, found this place together and survived together. She's also the only medic we have down here, and she's good at her stuff. You and her will work together when you need to, and I hope you'll get along."

"Glad I'm not alone anymore," Ruby said, smiling as she shook Sam's hand. "Good to meet you, Sam."

"You too," Sam said, smiling politely. "How much stuff do you have down here? Medical, I mean."

"We're running low," Ruby admitted. "We've been meaning to go and restock for a while."

"We've got enough that'll keep you covered for a while in our truck," Dean said. "We'll bring it down when we go for our stuff."

"Thank you," Ruby said, sighing quietly in relief.

"These guys are good. That's good. We need more good people," Meg said, flopping down beside Crowley. Sam and Dean sat themselves on one of the other couches, and other people gradually started to take their own spots. Clearly people had specific, preferred seats, and Sam and Dean weren't going to argue with that.

"So you've already met the boss and her bestie," Crowley said, smirking when Meg rolled her eyes. "Naomi and Bobby are out in the market stocking up on food, so you'll meet them when they get back. The rest of us are simply Jason, Beth, Ellen and her daughter Jo, and- where's he gone again?"

"Said something about taking a nap," the woman identified as Jo commented. Crowley rolled his eyes, getting up. He moved to the back of the room and thumped a door, calling into it.

"Oi! Get your lazy, good for nothing ass up, Milligan!" he said.

"That's rude, Crowley," Ellen said.

"Fully aware of that, dear," Crowley chuckled. A very sleepy, disgruntled looking kid who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he put some kind of order back into his blonde-brown hair.

"What?" he grumbled.

"Got two people you're gonna wanna meet, kid," Crowley said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and guiding him back to the group. "Gentlemen, this is Adam Milligan. Adam, this is Sam and Dean Winchester."

"Winchester?" Adam seemed to perk up a bit at the name, his eyes filling with some kind of hope. Sam frowned and Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah.." Dean said slowly.

"Kid went by Adam Winchester when we picked him up a few years back. He took his mother's name on a year later, settling as Adam Milligan," Ruby explained. Dean stood, coming face to face with Adam as he looked him over. Adam just stood and dealt with it.

"How old are you, kid?" Dean asked.

"Sixteen next weekend," Adam said. Dean nodded, glancing back at Sam, who just shrugged. "Dad left me with my mom when I was about a year old, said he had to go do something important. He never came back. At least, that's what mom told me. Eightballs got to us when I was eleven. Mom didn't make it. I managed to get out and hide, then Ellen and Bobby found me, brought me back here. They've been taking care of me ever since."

"Your dad? Who is he?" Dean asked.

"John Winchester," Adam said.

"Son of a bitch," Dean said, looking back at Sam again. "In the process of ditching us, he slept with someone and had another kid."

"Wow," Sam muttered, huffing as he shook his head. He sat forward in his seat more, fully aware that he'd tower the kid if he stood up.

"He left you?" Adam asked. Dean nodded. "Why?"

"It's a story for a later time, kiddo," Dean said, ruffling his hair and smiling. "For the time being, let me just deal with being even older than I already felt."

"You're really Sam and Dean Winchester?" Adam asked, looking back at the taller brother. Sam nodded. Adam grinned, pulling a grunt from Dean when he hugged him suddenly. Dean stayed still for a second before settling his arms around Adam, smiling softly and resting his chin on his head. Sam was smiling too, as was everyone else in the room.

"Ain't that a sweet sight," Ellen said happily, sighing quietly. "What d'ya think, kid? You like 'em?"

Adam just nodded against Dean's chest. Dean snorted.

"We're not just some object you can decide whether or not you like," he said. Ellen shot him a look, and he just grinned when Adam laughed quietly. Dean looked at Sam again, who braced himself when Adam suddenly moved across the space and hugged him.

"Look at that, Sammy. You're not the youngest anymore," Dean chuckled. Sam flipped him off with a fond smile as his long arms wrapped around Adam. "We came here to be safe and away from that stupid system, and we found a brother we didn't know about."

"You didn't know about him?" Meg asked, frowning. Dean shook his head.

"Dad left us when Sammy was seven years old. It's a complicated story and I'll tell you the full thing another time, but for now you just need to know that he left us, came back about a week ago and died the day after. Some eightball was possessing a kid that came in with a group from Helena. Stabbed him down with a bread knife while we were having security issues," he explained.

"I'm so sorry," Meg said softly. Dean shook his head, forcing himself not to cry.

"I'm good. We're fine. Dad's safe now and he's no longer a part of this war," Dean said. "Me and Sammy did fine on our own for fifteen years, we can keep going on our own now. And it's late, I know, but we have Adam now too. We got more to live for and more to fight for."

"They're good guys. I like 'em," Ellen said approvingly. Dean smiled, nodding.

"We bring food!" Dean spun around at the new voice that flooded the room. Another brunette woman wandered in carrying a couple of boxes, followed by an older man with an old baseball cap on his head. Dean's heart leapt out of his chest and Sam raised an eyebrow at his expression, unable to turn around due to the kid still happily hugging him. Adam eventually let go, smiling over at the woman Dean assumed was Naomi. The man was hidden behind more boxes, taking them into the store room with the ones Naomi had already taken back.

"Nice of you to join us," Crowley chuckled. "Meet the new guys, Sam and Dean."

"Oh, they're here now? Great," Naomi said, smiling as she shook Dean's hand. "I'm Naomi."

"Dean," he said. "That's my brother Sam."

"Pleasure to meet you," she said, shaking Sam's hand. Adam looked over the back of the couch and smiled when the man made an appearance again.

"Hey Bobby," he said.

"Hey, kiddo," Bobby greeted. He still hadn't noticed Sam and Dean, but Sam had looked now and Dean could see the tears glassing his eyes over.

"Bobby, guess what?" Adam asked, voice cracking a little. Dean couldn't fight off his soft chuckle. He remembered Sam's voice cracking all the time when he was hitting full puberty at fourteen. Bobby raised an eyebrow in question, focusing on what Adam was saying. Bobby was still good with kids, always had been. "I got brothers!"

"Yeah, I know you do, kiddo," Bobby said. "We keep telling ya."

" _No_ , I mean they're here!" Adam said. Bobby's eyes widened and he suddenly paid attention to the two newcomers in the room.

"Sam. Dean," he said.

"Bobby," Sam said, getting up and hugging him without hesitation. Dean grinned, going over to join them when Bobby held out an arm.

"You... know each other?" Naomi asked, confused.

"Man, I thought you were dead," Dean said, hugging tightly before letting go and looking at Naomi. "Yeah, we know each other. He was dad's best friend for a long time. Helped him look after us for a while after we got to Kansas. Left on a raid one day and never came back. Dad said he didn't know what happened, but there's a chance we'd never see him again, and we didn't. Years passed, Dad left, and Bobby never came back."

"Your daddy left ya?" Bobby asked in disbelief as Sam sat himself back down again.

"Yeah, he did. I was eleven, Sam was seven. We had to fend for ourselves and fight for what little food we could get," Dean told him. "I joined the AA Corps just so I could have some food and sneak some out for Sam. Sam learned to be a medic a few years later so he could eat more when I wasn't around and so he could help the V-1's as much as he could when he wasn't working."

"Your old man screwed you two over so much," Bobby sighed, shaking his head. "And then he went and screwed over Adam, too."

"But now Adam has us," Sam said. Adam smiled, looking at Sam and Dean like everything was finally right in the world.

"You're not gonna leave like dad did?" Adam asked.

"No way," Sam said, shaking his head. "Dad left all three of us. He blew his chances when he did that."

"As long as we're around, nothing bad's ever gonna happen to you, kid," Dean promised. "We're your brothers. We're gonna look after you."

"You two are just like I remember you," Bobby said. "Just... older now. And Sam hit a major growth spurt."

"No kidding," Dean snorted. "He started shootin' up when he was like fifteen. By the time he was nineteen, he towered over me. It's bullshit. I'm the oldest! I should be tallest!"

"You got your mom's genes, kid," Bobby chuckled. "She was pretty small compared to your dad."

"Tell me about it," Dean snorted.

"I'm glad what's left of your family is whole again," Meg said. "It seriously, truly warms my heart. But we need to discuss a lot of things."

"Right, yeah, we do," Dean agreed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Meg said.

"What's with the masks some people are wearing?" he asked. Meg sighed.

"I knew that would come up," she said. Dean raised an eyebrow. "They're not people, Dean. They're eightballs."

"Fuck," Dean cussed.

"Dean you said we'd be safe here," Sam said.

"You are, I promise," Meg assured them. "They live in harmony with humans, but I have a feeling Abaddon is using them for something more than creating peace. She's secretive, and has been since she got here."

"Abaddon is the chick who runs this place, right?" Sam asked. Meg nodded. "Wonderful."

"Don't get on her bad side, or she'll exile you from the city and you'll have to fight your own way to safety," Meg warned. "A couple of ours have gone recently, and we've seen others go in the past too. It's not good. Some of them were reported dead a few days later."

"That's shit," Dean commented.

"That's Abaddon," Meg said with a slight shrug. Dean nodded.

"So what else do we need to know?" he asked.

Meg started filling them in on everything they needed to know about the city, about how it worked, and about their group and Abaddon. Abaddon knew about their group, but as far as she knew, they were just living together and making use of the unused space. She didn't know they'd eventually be planning to flee, moving further out of town towards New Delphi, where there were no systems and no eightballs living among people. Ellen said that she and Jo had been from New Delphi originally, but they'd come too far out for their troops to find after their truck got turned over, so Vega took them in when they were found. From that, Meg knew she could trust that New Delphi was a safe place to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, look! They found Adam. :'3  
> I couldn't not write Adam into this somewhere. Adam is a precious turtle and must be protected at all times.
> 
> Almost 500 hits on this story, wow. It feels so unreal. Thank you guys so much, and I hope you stick with me. <3


	8. VIII

Later in the day, Sam and Dean were escorted back to where they'd left their truck to get their stuff. They didn't grab everything, knowing they'd be leaving again sometime in the near future, but they did grab a lot of the medical stuff, and the fresher food they'd brought so it didn't go to waste sitting in the truck. Meg had been so thankful that she didn't have words when the brothers appeared with the extra medical supplies, some of which they'd never had in Vega, along with extra food. Sam spent time getting to know Ruby a bit better while he showed her the stuff she'd never seen before, and taught her what it was all for and what it was used for, and in return, she taught him about anything they hadn't had access too in Kansas.

Dean spent time with Meg, talking about weaponry, and fighting, and tactics for getting out without being noticed, like he'd had to do in Kansas, and he spent time catching up with Bobby and getting to know Adam too. He had another little brother to protect and care for, and he wasn't about to let him down, just like he hoped he'd never let Sam down.

"You're good with Adam," Ellen commented as she joined Dean during dinner that evening. Adam was with Sam, laughing and getting to know the brother that was seven years older than him, rather than eleven. Meg was with them, and she nodded in agreement.

"I had to take care of Sam when he was a kid," Dean said. "I grew up too fast because it's what dad wanted. Bobby was the one to remind me what it was to be a kid while I still could, but then dad was the one who always, _always_ told me to take good care of Sam. _Look after your brother, boy. Take care of Sammy._ It was drilled into my head multiple times every day, and it just became a part of my personality, and a part of who I am.

"Bobby disappeared, and Dad eventually left, so I was left to remember everything I'd been taught so I could look after my little brother. I got in so many bad fights for that kid, just to make sure he was safe. I'd sometimes end up in the infirmary a few times a week, but Sam would always be right beside me the whole time because he didn't want to be away from me, and he knew he'd get fed if he stayed up there with me."

"Sounds rough," Meg said quietly. Dean nodded, taking a sip of the beer in his hand.

"It was. It still is, just less so now we're older. He's got my back too now, has had since he was old enough to fight properly," Dean chuckled. "And now we've got Adam, too, and I'm not letting what happened to us, happen to him. We've already lost our parents. I won't let him lose Bobby, or me and Sam. He's our brother, and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to protect him. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to protect the both of them, and if anyone gets in the way of that, I'm gonna put a bullet in someone."

"You're a good man, Dean. A good brother," Ellen assured him, squeezing his shoulder firmly. "Your momma would be proud of you."

"You knew mom?" Dean asked, looking at her. Ellen smiled sadly, nodding.

"She and I were good friends before the war. The Campbell's were a strange bunch, but Mary was wonderful. She had a heart of pure gold, that woman. Never did a bad thing unless it was absolutely necessary, and she was selfless; she always did things for the good of those around her," Ellen said.

Ellen spent a lot of time after that telling Dean stories of Mary from the years they'd been friends. Sam eventually moved to sit beside his brother and listen, and Adam listened in, too. He'd had his mother for a fair part of his life, but he hadn't had John. Sam and Dean didn't have Mary for long, and they lost John soon after. Adam had been lucky in some respects, and he knew that, so he was respectful and listened, finding himself enjoying the stories and wishing he'd been able to know Mary Winchester.

Since everything went downhill and the war began, Ellen had kept hold of a few transmissions from Mary. She'd kept them recorded, and never deleted them after she died. She always wanted to remember what Mary sounded like, and she promised to show Sam and Dean some day, but not while there was a still a war to focus on. Ellen did explain how the majority of the few transmissions she had recorded had been while she'd been pregnant, though. With both the boys. And then there was one where Mary talked about how Dean was so enthralled with Sam from the moment he'd laid eyes on his baby brother. Dean couldn't hide the smile he flashed Sam. Twenty-two years later, he still loved Sam that much, and he knew he'd never stop loving his little brother.

The conversation finally died down, and Dean just felt so much lighter. He felt like he truly knew his mother now, and Sam finally had the gaps filled that he hadn't known anything about because he'd been too young to truly remember Mary.

Sam and Dean had snickered and poked fun when Adam was sent to bed. Until he was eighteen years old, Bobby was planning on keeping strict rules over his head. He had done since he'd met Adam and took on the responsibility of looking after him, and Adam was turning out just fine because of that. Adam soon gave up arguing, cussed out his older brothers, then flashed them a smile and went to bed. Sam settled down with the medical stuff again, getting to know Ruby more fully while they talked and worked. Dean had a feeling Sam and Ruby would be great friends, and he was pleased with that.

"Hey, Meg?" Dean found himself saying as the brunette passed him with an apple in her hand. She stopped, crunching away before swallowing.

"What's up?" she asked, leaning on the table beside him, continuing to eat her snack.

"I, uh.. I wanted to ask a kind of favour," Dean said. He knew he'd be pushing his luck. He hadn't even been here a full twenty-four hours yet, and he was asking a lot of Meg, but he wouldn't know if it was worth it unless he tried.

"Go on," Meg said, her mouth full of the last few bites of her fruit.

"There's three people back home that, uh, that are really important to Sam and me," Dean began unsurely. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to have them here with us if I were to go back and get them?"

Meg stared at him for a second, considering the options as she weighed them up in her head. Her first request was, "Tell me about them."

"Castiel Novak, Balthazar Milton and Jessica Moore," Dean began. "Jess is Sam's best friend, she's also a medic. Balthazar is my best friend, and he's in the AA Corps with me. Castiel is- he's General Novak's adopted son, and I, uh.."

Meg was smiling, and Dean blushed, giving her a questioning glare. "You like this Castiel fella, don't you?"

"I don't-"

"Don't lie to me, Winchester," Meg mused, shaking her head. "Another medic and another guy with some fighting knowledge would be awesome. I'll arrange with someone I have on the outside to have Balthazar and Jessica brought in ASAP. For me to risk being accused of abduction, though? You've gotta plead me a pretty good case, Dean."

There was a teasing glint in her dark eyes. Meg was going to bring Castiel in regardless and Dean knew that, she just wanted to see him break and get tuned in with his own feelings. With a frustrated sigh, Dean humoured her.

"I'm in love with Castiel Novak, Meg," Dean confided. "I have been since the moment I laid eyes on the bastard and I just... everything about him is wonderful and it makes me feel like not even this war is going to bring me down. We've been planning on running away together for a long time, and I feel so shit for leaving him behind like I did, and I want to make it up to him and keep my promise. I want him out of Kansas where I know he'll be safe, and Kansas just isn't safe anymore."

Meg grinned, petting Dean's hair playfully. "You won me over with that kicked puppy look you gave me while you were talking, Winchester. I'll have them flown in first thing tomorrow. Talk nicely to Jo, and she'll get you hooked up to a transmitter so you can get in touch with them to let them know."

"Thank you," Dean breathed, smiling as he hugged me. She chuckled, hugging him back for a second before patting his back and going about her business for the night. Sam was smiling over at him when their eyes caught, so Dean knew he'd heard everything, or at least what he'd said about Cas, but that didn't matter. Sam was happy for him, that much was obvious, and that made everything okay with him.

His next task, however, was talking to Jo.

Jo was awesome, Dean knew that, and they had bantered a bit already, earning him points in her good books, but he wasn't completely familiar with her yet like he was with Meg, Ellen, Bobby and Adam. Even Crowley was more familiar to him than Jo, but he needed Jo if he wanted Cas, Balthazar and Jess to be ready.

Jo was talking to her mom when he spotted them in the corner of the room, and sucking in a breath, he huffed and made his way over. Ellen spotted him first, smiling as the conversation drew to a natural close.

"Hey, Dean," she greeted. "What's up?"

"Could I borrow Jo for a minute please? I gotta ask a favour," Dean said. Jo raised an eyebrow in question, but Ellen nodded, getting up and kissing Jo's hair.

"I'll see you in a bit. Be nice to him," Ellen said. Jo just smiled, shaking her head in amusement. Dean sat down where Ellen had previously been, and Jo looked at him.

"So what's up?" she asked. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of properly getting to know each other."

"I've just been talking with Meg," Dean began. "She's agreed to have three more of my people flown out from Kansas. They're beneficial to us in the long run, I promise. But she said I'd need to get a message to them so they'll be ready for collection. I was wondering if you'd be able to help out? Meg said you were good with transmissions.."

Jo nodded, shrugging. "Sure. Gotta tell me about them while I get you connected though, that's my conditions."

"Deal," Dean chuckled, smiling. Jo grinned, getting up long enough to grab a flat-ish box with a radio inside it. She started getting to work, giving Dean an expectant look. He cleared his throat and began talking. He told her first about Jess, who was his brother's best friend and had been so good to the both of them over the years. He talked about Balthazar, who'd been his worst enemy to begin with, but saved his ass from an eightball on a raid as an apology for being an asshole, and they'd been close friends ever since. And then, he talked about Castiel, who was the love of his life and who Dean regretted being so disgusting to during the last week or so he was in Kansas.

The stories won Jo over. They'd softened her up tremendously, and she was smiling as she handed over the radio console.

"I'll give you a bit of time. I have a feeling I know who you're gonna radio into, and I don't want to intrude. Give me a yell when you're done, and I'll show you how to do it for future reference," she said, giving his face a gently shove with her fist. Dean chuckled, smiling and nodding as he thanked her. When she was gone, instead choosing to hang out with Beth and Jason, Dean started tuning to the frequency he wanted. He was thankful Cas had stolen a radio for himself, otherwise this would've been a pain, and he'd have had to radio Balthazar, since the medical bay only had two radios per section that were shared between all staff.

It took a while, but finally, a very sleep Castiel muttered through the radio.

 _"Who's trying to radio in at an ungodly hour?"_ Wow, was it that late already?

"Cas."

_" **Dean?** "_

"Hey, Cas, yeah it's Dean," Dean said, rubbing the back of his neck as he leant back against a stack of crates. "I don't really have time to catch up, but I need you to do something for me."

 _"Oh God, Dean, you're_ alive. _I thought you might've died! Is Sam okay? Where is he?"_

"Cas, man, slow down baby," Dean said, shaking his head to himself with a fond smile on his lips. "I'm alive, Sam is fine, he's doing medic stuff with his new medic friend. Shut up and listen, Cas, please."

 _"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Go ahead,"_ Cas said. He sounded far more awake now than he had before.

"I'm in Vega, but I'm not staying long. I'm with a group run by a woman called Meg. I spoke to her a few minutes before I radioed you, and she's agreed to arrange for you to fly out to be with us," Dean explained. There was silence. "Cas?"

 _"You wonderful man, Dean Winchester,"_ he finally responded, and Dean grinned. _"When am I leaving?"_

"Tomorrow morning, Meg said. Be ready and be outside the gates, because they're not gonna let you leave from inside Kansas," Dean said.

 _"I'll be ready, I promise,"_ Cas said.

"Hey, Cas? Get Balthazar and Jess, too. I'm not leaving them behind," Dean said. He could hear the grin in Castiel's voice.

 _"Balthazar and Jess will be with me,"_ Cas said. _"I love you, Dean. Thank you for not giving up on me."_

"I'd never give up, Cas, not on you, not as long as I'm breathing," Dean promised. "Hey, have you heard from Michael at all?"

_"He's been up in his quarters since you left. Why?"_

"Wondered, that's all," Dean said. "He stopped me and Sam half way here and made a dick of himself. I wondered if he was still out there or not, that's all. Get Jess and Balth ready, and get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

 _"Tomorrow,"_ Cas said. They shared goodnights, and Dean sighed, placing the radio down. He looked across the room, waving Jo over when she looked at him. She was grinning as she approached, taking the deck from him.

"So?" she asked.

"They're gonna be ready and they're gonna be outside the gates waiting," Dean said. Jo laughed happily, hugging him.

"I'm happy for you, Dean," she said. "You look... you look peaceful."

"I am. For the first time in weeks, Jo, I am peaceful," he said. Jo smiled, shaking her head then proceeding to show him how their decks worked, as promised.

Tomorrow morning, Dean would be with Cas again. Nothing could kill this happiness high he was on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally gonna be a lot of dialogue and Ellen talking about Mary and such, but I re-wrote it because it was dull, and dragged on a lot. This happened instead and I'm happier with it.
> 
> I hope everyone's still enjoying this story, and thank you for all the support <3


	9. IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm fully aware that not many Dominion fans are approving of how I'm writing this, but I'm going to continue writing it anyway. I'm using basic plot points from the show, but I'm not copying it exactly because that's not what I want. I'd basically be re-writing the show with the Supernatural characters if I did that.  
> Thank you to those who are enjoying it and do tell me so; I appreciate it hugely.  
> Those who complain that I'm not doing it right can bite me; I like the way I'm doing it.
> 
> To those who do read every update and stuff, I apologise for the long wait for this update. Life just got in the way, so updates will be less frequent now, but I will post as and when I can.
> 
> Please keep reading, bookmarking and leaving kudos. It means a lot <3

Everyone was up early the following morning. It was apparently a routine for them to be up early so they could get things done then go and blend in with everyone else for a while so they didn't look too suspicious for being separate from the rest of the city.

Meg had sent a chopper out to Kansas and had arranged a meeting spot and pickup point. Dean was all but bubbling with excitement when Jo had passed on the message. He was finally going to see Cas and Balthazar again. Sam was excited too, because Jess would be with him where she'd be safe and out of the way, even if she was now at risk of being more involved because of this.

Crowley spent a bit of time showing Sam and Dean the ropes, explaining to them that everyone helped with as much as they could regardless of what specific skills they had, and the brothers soon got into the swing of things. When the main jobs were done for the morning, Sam and Dean hung out with Adam some more before they all had to go out into the main part of the city.

Sam didn't feel comfortable being around so many eightballs, especially after having to avoid them for so long. Adam didn't like it either, and that put Dean on all kinds of protective alert. His senses were open to anything and anyone that might try to hurt his brothers, and he was more than ready to take the threats down if it came to it.

They were passing through the market, chatting idly about their lives to get to know each other more when a voice called out that made Meg tense up a little, like a cat being cornered by a dog.

"Meg! Surely you're not hiding new people from us now are you?" Dean turned around, finding himself looking at a woman with pale skin and hair so red it could've been the centre of a fire. She had two eightball soldiers and two human soldiers either side of her.

"Abaddon," Meg greeted. "This is Sam and Dean Winchester. Sam and Dean, this is Abaddon. She's the one in charge of this whole city."

"Pleasure," Abaddon said, an amused smile on her red lips. "You two are little Adam's brothers, right? I hear word of Adam always talking about two half brothers he never even knew he had until very recently."

"Yeah, we're his brothers," Sam said stiffly. Out of instinct, Dean pushed Adam behind him more. Abaddon felt like a threat to him, and he couldn't put his finger on the reason why. Adam just held the cuff of Dean's jacket, a frown sat on his face. He'd never been too wary of Abaddon because she'd usually be pretty nice to him, but seeing his brothers so unsettled by her made him think twice about it.

"I'm all for having people join us in the safety of our city, but Meg knows I don't like people who can't pull their weight," Abaddon said, arms folding over her chest. "What can you boys bring to my peaceful home, hm?"

"I was in the army back in Kansas. AA Corps, under the Archangel Michael," Dean recited. "Sam is a trained medic and he's damn good at his job."

Abaddon smiled; the kind of smile that sent shivers down Dean's spine and made Sam twitch under the intensity of the gaze that came with the smile. "Alright, that's good," she said. "We don't have many medics these days, we could use all the help we can get. And the more soldiers we have, the more prepared we're going to be."

"Ma'am, a chopper was sent in the direction of Kansas this morning under Meg's orders," one of the soldiers commented. Meg scowled at him, and the soldier seemed to smirk smugly in return. Dean didn't like this situation and he wanted out of it.

"Oh? And why have you sent a chopper, Meg? And without my authorisation?" Abaddon accused. "You do know that if I don't like your answer, you could be in a lot of trouble, right?"

"I'm fully aware, which is why I have a good reason," Meg responded, smirking when the soldier's face fell. Clearly there was some bad blood there. "Dean has three people in Kansas who need out before things get too bad there. His best friend, his brother's best friend, and his boyfriend who fyi, is General Novak's boy."

"And they can do what for us if we let them stay?" Abaddon asked, casting her gaze to Sam.

"Dean's friend is in the army with him, mine is a medic, and General Novak's son is pretty good with the politics of things, and can also fight well," Sam responded.

"Cas can teach, too, so if you've got kids in this city that need to be taught, then Cas can help," Dean added. Abaddon narrowed her eyes for a second, casting her gaze between the brothers before settling it back on Meg.

"You're lucky I like your answer, Miss Masters," she said. Meg seemed to let out a breath she'd been holding. "But I expect to meet them the minute they arrive, and no later. Don't hide them from me this time."

"Got it," Meg said, nodding once. Abaddon smirked again before turning and walking away. No one moved until she and her guards were out of sight. Sam deflated as he let out a breath, and Dean closed his eyes for a second to try and get rid of the tension.

"What the fuck was that?" Sam asked as they turned back to the group.

"That was Abaddon," Ruby said. "She's... bad news, has been since she got here and no one can figure out why. Only those closest to her know what's going on, and that's why we want out as soon as possible."

"I don't like her, and I don't trust her," Dean said, opinion already set about her. "She gives me a bad feeling."

"She gives all of us a bad feeling," Ellen said, shaking her head. "Don't worry, we won't be dealing with her for too much longer."

"I hope not," Sam grumbled.

"How long until that chopper gets here?" Dean asked.

"Any minute now," Meg said, glancing at her watch, then turning to Ellen, Jo and Bobby. "Go wait for them to land. They'll need to know where to go."

"You got it," Bobby said, heading towards the garage level of the city with Ellen and Jo in tow.

Meg took the appearance of Abaddon as a sign it was time they went back to their little home for a while and no one disagreed. No one wanted to run into Abaddon again anytime soon. When they started to head back down to the lower levels, commotion rose near the entrances to the garages. Dean and Sam shared a look. Dean had a sinking feeling he knew what was happening. Meg's radio crackled in her pocket, then Ellen's voice called through it.

_"Meg? Meg!"_

"Ellen, what's going on?" Meg asked.

 _"Raphael's angels. They know Dean is here. They took down the chopper. They're using it as a warning. Raphael's bringing in an army if they don't get Dean,"_ Ellen explained. Meg looked at Dean with wide eyes.

"They took down the chopper," she said.

"Cas," Dean breathed, immediately breaking into a run, shoving through the crowds to get out.

Soldiers were firing at the angels, but it wasn't doing any good. They just weren't leaving. At least, they didn't until one of them spotted Dean appearing. They shared a silent communication, then left, leaving the burning remains of the chopper behind.

"Cas!" Dean yelled as Sam and the others appeared behind him.

"Sir, please, get back inside," one of the guards said.

"No," Dean said, shaking his head and pushing past. "No, my friends were in that chopper, you gotta let me find them!"

"Dean!" Dean looked over his shoulder to Ruby, who was pointing over to where three people stood, dusty and ash covered, but very much alive.

"Fucking Christ," Dean said, dashing over to them. Cas was in his arms the second they were within touching distance, and Sam had hurried forward to pull Jess up into a hug. Balthazar stood to the side, flashing Dean a smile and nodding at him when they're eyes met over Castiel's shoulder.

"Dean," Castiel breathed, squeezing him for a second before releasing him again.

"Thank whoever the fuck is listening you're okay," Dean said, touching his face gently. Castiel smiled, nodding. Sam had released Jess, who accepted a hug from Dean when he turned to her. "You too, pipsqueak. I'm glad you're okay."

"Fuck off," Jess snorted, smiling at Dean.

"What the Hell even happened?" Dean asked as he grabbed his best friend to hug him tightly.

"They came outta nowhere," Balthazar informed him. "We were coming in for landing on the pad when they took down the tail end. Pilot lost control. Didn't make it through the nose dive."

"How the Hell are you guys still alive? I had three pilots on that damn chopper and none of them made it!" Meg exclaimed as she approached.

"We got lucky?" Balthazar pretty much questioned. Dean frowned at him, narrowing his eyes when he saw a black feather poking out from beneath his jacket.

"Balthazar..." he said slowly, a tone of warning to his words. The English-French accented man sighed, glancing around to make sure no one else was paying attention before stretching out his wings. Meg's mouth fell open, Sam's eyes widened and Dean frowned.

"He saved our lives," Jess defended. "He could've let us burn, but he didn't. He risked this coming out so we'd survive the crash. We were hoping there wouldn't be a fuss so we could've hidden it, but Raphael's angels wanted people to know they'd been here and knew where Dean is."

"How long?" Dean asked.

"Dean-"

"How long, Balthazar?" Dean repeated. Balthazar sighed quietly, folding his wings away neatly before anyone else noticed.

"Since the AA Corps were formed," he confessed. Dean felt his frown deepen. "Just before you and I met after getting assigned to training together."

"So you're a higher angel," Sam confirmed when Dean didn't speak. Balthazar nodded, the look of guilt clear on his face.

"You and I are gonna have a long talk about why you shouldn't be keeping that shit from me," Dean growled. Balthazar nodded again as Dean looked at Meg pleadingly.

"I won't tell, don't worry," she promised. Dean nodded, thanking her silently before grabbing Castiel's hand and pulling him close for a kiss before leading him inside. As soon as they were inside again, the whole group, including their three new arrivals, were lead to where Abaddon was sat talking to her guards. Conversation ceased when she realised they were there, and the glare in her eyes would terrify any normal person. Adam seemed to cower back behind Sam a bit, and Sam just stood his ground to keep Adam safe. The tense emotions swirling in Dean's mind were enough to make him stand his ground at the front of the group.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Dean Winchester," Abaddon said. "Not only has my chopper gone down, but I've lost three pilots and five other men in the crossfire because Raphael's damn angels knew you were hiding here. We've been peaceful for twenty-six years, yet here you are, bringing an _army_ down on us because.. what? Why do they want you so badly, Dean? Why are they so willing to destroy my city for one man?"

"Dean.." Sam said quietly. Dean didn't speak, and he kept a straight face. Abaddon rolled her eyes.

"Fine. We'll do it the other way," she said. "I lost seven men today because of you, and as that old saying goes, a life for a life, right? So now, I'll take seven of your new group's lives. Any volunteers?"

"Dean!" Meg growled.

"Alright then, my choice. Goodie!" Abaddon said, standing. She pointed first, taking Ruby, Jason, Beth, Jess and Crowley. That was five. "Mm, I still need two more to make it even. How about you, pretty boy?" Dean's body started to tense, ready to attack at a moment's notice when Abaddon motioned for Castiel to come forward. "One more... Adam! Precious little Adam."

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed.

"No wait!" Dean said, finally breaking at the look of fear in Adam's eyes when he was brought forward. "Don't hurt them. Don't hurt any of them. Please, I didn't know Raphael knew we were here. I had no idea. I've never even met Raphael. Just don't fucking hurt them."

"Then tell me why they'd want you so bad," Abaddon snarled.

"I'm the Chosen One," Dean said. Abaddon frowned, seeming to be checking for any signs of the tattoos.

"You're pulling one on me," she said accusingly.

"I'm not," Dean promised, unzipping and shrugging off his jacket. The tattoos on his arms and the base of his neck were on show, and that was enough proof without him having to take his shirt off, too. "I'm the Chosen One, and they want the tattoos and whatever message they have within them."

"Let them go," Abaddon said mindlessly. The seven she almost killed were released. Meg pulled Ruby and Crowley back, Ellen and Jo took back Jason and Beth, Adam hid behind Bobby and Jess settled herself in Sam's arms. Cas stood just behind Dean, watching the encounter silently. "You're the baby the Archangel Michael saved when this war began?"

"Yes," Dean said. "That's why Raphael wants me so badly. But the joke's on him, because none of us can read what these damn tattoos say."

"Alright," Abaddon said, nodding slowly. "But if you're truly the chosen one, you'll prove it to me by more than just those damn doodles on your skin."

"Fine," Dean said. Abaddon smirked, motioning for him to follow her.

"Come with me," she said. Dean followed, leaving the rest of the group behind him, except for Sam and Balthazar, who managed to slip away and follow.

"I need more proof than just those marks that you're the chosen one," Abaddon explained as she lead Dean, Sam and Balthazar through a few corridors. "I want something back, and it's not going to be easy. Not all souls here in Vega are sound minded, but they are souls nonetheless, and they reside in here." She paused her speech at the end of the corridor, thumping the thick metal door. Dean frowned, hearing snarling on the inside. "One of them in there stole a key from me. A copper disc, with a hole dead centre. If you can retrieve it for me, I'll have my proof, and you'll have your safety; we'll talk without possibilities of violence."

"Why do you need more proof than the markings, Abaddon?" Dean asked.

"Because, Dean, I don't care much for markings. Anyone could've had those copied from a reliable source for all I know. Me? I care more about what the man is capable of doing. Maybe you are indeed telling me the truth, and maybe you are indeed special, but I need the proof, and the proof is in whether or not you survive this mission. If you do, then perhaps maybe our cities can join as one to take on this lingering threat of Raphael and his army of nitwits."

"Has anyone ever made it out of there alive?" Dean asked, eyeing the door.

"Not exactly," Abaddon chuckled. "But there's a first time for everything. You in?"

With a sigh, Dean pulled the blade from the sheath around his waist, and shook the tension out of his muscles as much as he could. He couldn't be tense going into a death trap like this.

"Dean, think about this for a minute," Sam said.

"I got it, Sammy," Dean promised, not needing to look over his shoulder to know Sam was worried. With a nod in Abaddon's direction, Dean prepared himself, and the red-haired woman opened the door.

**Author's Note:**

> This just happened.  
> It's what happens when I watch TV shows.  
> Let's see how this turns out.


End file.
